Residents of Wamba area in Samburu County benefit from European Union Water project
Residents of Wamba area in Samburu County will now have access to clean water after being faced by water shortage escalated by drought. The water project fun...
By: KTN Kenya
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Residents of Wamba area in Samburu County benefit from European Union Water project - Video
Report foundup to 5.9% of 116billion budget could have broken rules Auditors demand 'more careful management and control of EU funds' Comes as David Cameron battles with Brussels over 1.7billion demand EU issued demand ontop of the 8billion-a-year the UK already pays Jean-Claude JunkcercriticisesPM's 'behaviour' in challenging bill
By Matt Chorley, Political Editor for MailOnline
Published: 04:22 EST, 5 November 2014 | Updated: 05:39 EST, 5 November 2014
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The European Union was today accused of misspending up to 7billion, just days after demanding Britain hand over an extra 1.7billion as the price for economic growth.
Auditors demanded more careful management and control of taxpayers money, warning up to 5.9 per cent of the 116billion budget could have been spent in breach of EU rules.
Tory MPs condemned the breathtaking hypocrisy at a time when David Cameron is refusing to meet the demand for 1.7billion by December 1,on top of the 8billion-a-year it already pays.
David Cameron has called for spending restraint from Brussels and refused to pay an extra 1.7billion by December 1, but European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has criticised the Prime Minister's 'behaviour'
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European Union accused of mis-spending up to 7BN
European Union policy makers have come up with a big new idea to drive investment and economic growth by building a capital markets union. Now they have to figure out what that means.
Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the new European Commission, issued the call back in July, telling EU lawmakers that developing and integrating capital markets would cut the cost of raising capital, particularly for small and medium-size enterprises. It would also help reduce our very high dependence on bank funding, he said.
Since then, everyone from the European Central Bank to lenders and exchanges has come forward to fill Junckers slogan with content. Notably absent in the clamor is the commission itself, the blocs executive arm, which will be in charge of coming up with the plan.
If you ask ten different people, youll get ten different answers as to what capital markets union means, Verena Ross, executive director of the European Securities and Markets Authority, told U.K. lawmakers on Oct. 28.
The idea may be new, but the problem it tries to address isnt. In Europe, 85 percent of financing comes from banks, yet lending to euro-area companies and households has contracted in annual terms every month for the past two and a half years.
For small companies, which are particularly dependent on local bank finance, the situation is dire, according to the commission. A third of small companies that apply for credit in Greece get the full amount. Half do so in Spain and Italy, compared with a euro-zone average of 65 percent.
And economic expansion in the currency bloc is anemic. The commission cut its growth forecasts on Nov. 4 to 0.8 percent this year and 1.1 percent in 2015.
ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch acknowledged on Oct. 22 that while expectations for the planned capital-markets union are high, there is no common understanding of what it means or what it should look like.
For the financial industry, it means new business opportunities; for financial stability experts, it means better control of shadow banking; and for entrepreneurs, it means better access to funding sources, he said.
Ideas put forward by Mersch include rule changes to destigmatize securitization, addressing the heterogeneity of insolvency rules across the EU and bringing down the costs of settling cross-border securities trades.
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EU Capital Markets Union Still a Glimmer in Junckers Eye
BRUSSELS The European Union cut its already-low economic-growth forecasts further Tuesday, indicating the recovery will remain sluggish amid problems for the bigger countries, particularly France and Germany.
The official forecast for growth this year in the 18-country eurozone was cut to 0.8 percent from a prediction of 1.2 percent made in the spring.
Indicating little good was expected next year, too, it reduced the 2015 prediction from 1.7 percent to 1.1 percent.
"The situation in the euro area remains extremely fragile," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Unemployment in the currency union was forecast to decrease at a painfully slow rate. After 11.6 percent this year, it is expected to dip to 11.3 percent next year and 10.8 percent in 2016.
The broader 28-nation EU, which includes non-euro members such as Britain and Sweden, was expected to grow 1.3 percent this year from a previous 1.6 percent forecast.
To help speed up the recovery, EU Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said the bloc should focus on spending on special projects, for which the EU Commission has a $375 billion plan.
He said the plan would be presented to the EU parliament before the end of the year. "There is a real sense of urgency."
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European Union cuts growth forecasts as big economies falter
The 28-member European Union on Wednesday pledged to continue extending financial and technical assistance to the Philippine government in the latter's efforts to establish the Bangsamoro government that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
In a joint paper delivered at the Philippines Development Forum (PDF) currently being held in Davao City, the EU said it will allot more than 5 million for new programs in Mindanao set to start in 2015.
The EU said these new programs will focus on the development of a regional justice system and in promoting inclusive growth through job creation and access to sustainable energy.
While the support to the Peace process will receive continued dedicated funding...The new programmes to start in 2015 will already contain important components benefitting Mindanao and Bangsamoro, the EU paper said.
Specific interventions will be designed benefitting Mindanao and Bangsamoro in particular to support job creation accompanying the creation of the new political entity, the EU paper added.
The EU said 3.5 million will be alloted to institutional and operational support of the future Bangsamoro Human Rights Commission and to local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the exercise of their human rights monitoring and promotion/education functions.
The EU said flexible technical assistance will also be provided to the future Bangsamoro Government in terms of developing and institutionalizing its regional justice system.
On the other hand, 1.5 million will be allotted to the EU's Access to Sustainable Energy program. The EU said the program would include training of electric cooperatives in Bangsamoro to allow them to connect more people to the grid.
The EU said additional grants will also be given for rural electrification and development of innovative renewable technologies such as solar home systems, mini-grids, solar lanterns and solar pumps.
The statement said that in the last 20 years, the EU has extended more than P10 billion worth of development assistance to Mindanao. It is also the largest contributor to the World Bank-administered Mindanao Trust Fund, a multi-donor trust fund that promotes social and economic recovery in Southern Philippines.
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European Union pledges 5 million to Bangsamoro programs