By Abbie Schepps

In Brussels, earlier this month, thousands of European farmers protested to demand emergency aid to offset falling prices for milk, pork, and other products. Blame can be divided amongst many factors, but dairy farmers point fingers at a European Union decision earlier this year to end a quota system that has helped maintain prices. Now, agriculture ministers gathered to consider proposals by the European Commission with the hopes of promoting upward pressure on prices. A proposed plan will provide new funding to national governments and will hopefully halt price decreases by removing products from the market and placing them into storage. It remains to be seen how European farmers will fair, as market prices are not expected to increase until sometime next year. 

Read More

October 01, 2015

By Craig Tarasoff

Over the past year, the US and the European Union have been in negotiations for a trade agreement to lower tariffs, create jobs, and increase growth. Discussions of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) have stalled due to midterm elections in the US and disagreements over important issues such as the ability of companies to “sue governments to enforce terms of any trade deal.” The next round of negotiations will take place in Brussels in February. This agreement could be one of the largest in the world, but disputes over enforcement mechanisms may continue to derail progress. Read more from the New York Times.

Read More

January 28, 2015

By Catherine Kent

Reuters reported on Sunday that Germany and France are secretly discussing a deal that would allow the European Commission to approve Paris’s draft 2015 budget, despite the budget exceeding European Union debt limits. The agreement sets a blueprint for France to reduce its deficit and undergo structural reform. This deal is important to Germany, because it would avert a clash between two of the Commission’s prominent players, and foster German-French relations.

If this draft works, Germany will oppose any sanctions that the European Commission proposes and France will side-step the EU’s austerity measures. On Wednesday,  France will propose its rule-defying draft in Brussels, and face the grim possibility of fines if the draft is rejected.

Read More

October 31, 2014