At the end of last year, it was the Commission, which already voiced a demand for more investments. This week, it was the European Parliament, which made the same request during its consultations on the Annual Growth Survey 2017 of the European Commission in Strasbourg. It appears that the Finance Ministers are now the only ones who cannot make their mind up.

 

This week, the European Parliament adopted three reports on the future of the EU only with a slight majority – among those reports was also a joint report on a budgetary capacity for the Eurozone by the Committee on Budgets (BUDG) and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON). The proposal for establishing such a budget is as old as the Economic and Monetary Union itself. However, it is experiencing an upswing once again in face of the stability problems of the Eurozone during the crisis.

 

Economic growth for all member states for the first time since 2008, but no improvement for those mostly affected by the crisis

 

Who calls the shots in Brussels? For years, AK and ÖGB together with European partner organisations have been mobilising against the disparity of force with regard to lobbyists in Brussels. This week, the European Parliament once again made its opposition clear. And a new study shows how important the subject matter still is.

 

It is a fixed date in the calendar of many in Brussels: the New Year’s Reception hosted by AK EUROPA, the Brussels Office of the Austrian Federal Chamber of Labour and the ÖGB Europabüro, the Brussels Office of the Austrian Federation of Trade Unions. Thus, the rooms were well filled by attending guests.

This week, AK EUROPA, the Brussels Office of the Austrian Federal Chamber of Labour together with the Brussels Office of the Austrian Federation of Trade Unions ÖGB, the Chamber of Labour Saarland, the Chambre des Salariés Luxembourg and IG Metall hosted a high calibre panel discussion on the subject of austerity policy.

 

ÖGB Europabüro, the Brussels office of the Austrian Trade Union Federation and AK EUROPA, the Brussels office of the Austrian Federal Chamber of Labour, would like to cordially invite you to our traditional

NEW YEAR'S RECEPTION 2017

The Panama Leaks committee of inquiry this week dealt with the facilitation of letterbox companies.

 

Maximum profit, but minimum taxes: international corporations such as Apple, Google, Starbucks, McDonald‘s or BASF are using complex tax haven constructions and systematically shirk paying tax on their record profits. According to the OECD this means that as a consequence of this, the general public is losing out on up to 240 billion US dollars per year.

 

Since in September 2015, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, within the scope of his speech on the “State of the Union”, announced the development of a European Pillar of Social Rights, it has not only been the European Commission working on filling this announcement with contents. The European Parliament too has now voted on a corresponding report.