Tag: Finance and banking
Right to use cash should be in constitution – POLITICO
Being able to continue using cash for payments rather than cards or digital currencies should be enshrined in the Austrian constitution, Chancellor Karl Nehammer said.
“More and more people are worried that cash could be restricted as a means of payment in Austria,” he said, insisting that people have a “right to cash”.
Austria has lagged begind other European countries on digital payments, with people clinging to coins and bills, particularly for smaller, everyday items.
“In Austria alone, €47 billion
Inside French commissioner Thierry Breton’s plot to run Europe – POLITICO
BRUSSELS — When Thierry Breton first floated the idea of becoming European Commission president, not even he seemed to take the idea very seriously.
“I may be able to consider a new Plan B assignment,” the internal market commissioner replied with a smile, when asked at a POLITICO event whether he wanted the top job, prompting laughter.
But as the European Parliament election draws closer, Breton’s “Plan B” pitch to take over leadership of the EU executive is coming into
Nigel Farage, the ‘disingenuous grifter’ – POLITICO
Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe.
Britain’s elite Coutts Bank pinned several labels on Nigel Farage when deciding to drop him as a customer earlier this month — including those of “racist” and “xenophobe.” But it’s really the characterization of him as a “disingenuous grifter” that the former politician has done everything to prove since being de-banked.
After all, a grifter isn’t only a swindler and a con artist but also the operator of a circus sideshow,
Why Britain’s lobbying crackdown isn’t really a crackdown – POLITICO
LONDON — The U.K. is finally promising to tighten its loose lobbying rules after a host of scandals. The trouble is, hardly anyone’s buying the plan.
Ministers chose the last day before the House of Commons kicked off its summer recess to respond to a swathe of recommendations made in three major reports over the past two years. They vowed “fundamental” changes to the U.K.’s transparency rules to ensure the “integrity” of government.
But ethics advocates remain to be convinced,
Germany faces 5 tough years, economy minister warns – POLITICO
Germany faces five difficult years of green industrial transition that “will put a burden” on people, Economy Minister Robert Habeck warned — while urging his government to approve fresh subsidies to safeguard the country’s industrial base.
Reacting to a new report by the International Monetary Fund that projects Germany’s economy will shrink 0.3 percentage points this year, Habeck told German public broadcaster ARD on Wednesday evening, “The data certainly isn’t good.”
Germany’s statistical office had already warned in May that
Coutts bank boss quits in row over Nigel Farage’s canceled account – POLITICO
LONDON — Peter Flavel, CEO of luxury bank Coutts, became the latest senior British banking figure to resign amid a bitter row over Nigel Farage’s personal finances.
Flavel followed NatWest Group chief executive Alison Rose out the door Thursday as recriminations flew over the shuttering of the prominent Brexiteer’s account. Farage’s political views and public statements were listed as a factor in the account’s closure — despite initial reassurances from the bank to the contrary.
In a statement Thursday, new
Why Britain still can’t stop talking about Nigel Farage – POLITICO
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LONDON — He promised us he’d retired from the political scene.
But two-and-a-half years after quitting as Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage still wields an outsized influence over British politics — dominating headlines, winning ratings wars and pushing the ruling Conservative Party in his favored directions on illegal immigration, “woke capitalism” and much else.
This week Farage claimed a genuine scalp with the toppling of one of Britain’s most
Long wait for justice in one of Britain’s worst health scandals – POLITICO
LONDON — Decades after they were let down by the state that was supposed to care for them, British victims of the world-wide infected blood scandal are still waiting for amends.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was heckled as he sought to answer a flurry of questions on his administration’s response to what has been called the “worst treatment disaster” in the history of the National Health Service.
Thousands died – with many more falling ill — after being
NatWest bank chief quits over Nigel Farage ‘debanking’ saga – POLITICO
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LONDON — NatWest Chief Executive Alison Rose stepped down in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after she confessed to being the source for an inaccurate BBC story about why Nigel Farage was dropped as a client by NatWest-owned Coutts bank.
Rose fell on her sword in a late-night summit of the bank’s board — less than eight hours after it pledged “full confidence” in her — when she
Only dead people donate to the Scottish National Party – POLITICO
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LONDON — When your most enthusiastic donors are dead people, you might have a problem.
The Scottish National Party — the pro-independence outfit which has dominated Scottish politics for more than a decade — has suffered an exodus of big-money donors.
Its finances are the subject of an ongoing police probe that’s seen the arrest of top party figures.
Separately, subscription-paying members have deserted the party in their thousands,