Finance and Economy

Considering the current attitude of the Turkish government which regards regulations as hurdles reducing economic growth, the recent Soma mining accident should not have come as a surprise. From both economic and ecological points of view, the Turkish economic growth trajectory is not sustainable and should be changed.

Beginning in the fall of 2013, three manifestos published by German and French intellectuals revived the idea of establishing a “Political Community for the Euro” to give the single currency a true system of democratic governance.

Despite some positive signs, the European economy remains extraordinarily weak. To escape deflation and solve problems like unemployment, what is needed is a whole new approach to getting money into the economy.

The 2007 financial crisis evidenced the weaknesses of the Eurozone. Since then, European policymakers have tried to save the euro and the European financial market. As consequence of the economic and political instability of the last years the European Central Bank has de facto gained more power vis-à-vis the other European Institutions and political actors. Today the ECB is fundamental for determining Member States’ economic policies in all areas, not only monetary policy.

It is no secret that the lobbying might of financial institutions has shaped regulatory rules at national, European and global level. But did the disaster of the 2007 financial crisis change this? The honest answer is that the old institutions are still up to their old tricks, and a change in how we make policy is needed if we are to avoid a repeat of the crisis.

An interview with Philippe Lamberts, Green MEP and member of the Committee for Economic and Monetary Affairs, who along with his colleague Sven Giegold, is one of the main actors in the struggle against mainstream financial orthodoxy.

While progress towards a more resilient financial system has undoubtedly been achieved at EU level, it remains nonetheless much too incomplete. The challenge is all the more significant as our system, more than ever, remains dominated by banks that are too big or too interconnected to fail and therefore too dangerous to exist.

The analysis and publication by journalists of previously confidential data from known tax havens – widely known as “Offshore Leaks” – has excited media interest around the world.

If we want to put finance on a leash with smart regulation, Greens must take the wind out of their opponent’s sails by having policies that simultaneously unleash finance and restore lending into the real economy and, above all, into a green industrial transformation.

The idea that the peripheral countries were the authors of their own destruction continues to exist at European level. However a closer examination of the facts shows this is not the case, and an urgent reprioritisation of EU policies is needed.