These EU Commission clowns that conduct themselves as emperors over a  bureaucratic menage of stupidity, have no sense of right or wrong as  long as they retain the power and the wealth that comes to them by  maintaining it. They are not prepared to see, or attempt ot understand  the problems that they inflict on the so called member states. They are hide bound by now, into believing that they rule and only they are capable of doing so. Their belief is in an ever expanding Union that will somehow triumph over the USA, and, being incapable of understanding that the centuries old disparate cultures of the union cannot be dismembered by a common currency and the free movement of people, they will plough on relentlessly.  All would have been well if they had simply followed the idea of free
trade. But you can expect no better from politicians, whatever their hue. It is we the people who suffer the consequences of their stupidity. Cameron is on a hiding to nothing and is probably part of
the scam: sounding good but playing their game and knowing full well that, at least as far as the UK is concerned, especially with all the lefties in the celtic fringe and the EU migrants able to vote with their guided 'yes' vote to stay in the bloody union... People try to complicate things, but generally you can get to the nub of most issues pretty quickly. I) The Greeks aren't prepared to live as their productivity allows. 2) They aren't prepared to make the debt interest payments as the price of being in the Euro. 3) The Germans aren't prepared (and who can blame them?) to permanently subsidise Greek lifestyles.  So they have to leave the Eurozone, and personally I'd throw them out of the EU and try to recover the money through tariff barriers. The idea that there has been some huge contraction in the Greek economy, and it is the fault of the other countries, is just laughable. If someone was paid 2,000 Euros to sit in a park in Athens and drink fortified wine you wouldn't call that a job, and you wouldn't count their "activity" - or inactivity - towards GDP. But somehow if Germany provides money to create non-jobs which involve sitting in an office, rather than a park, we're supposed to count that "output" (playing Crystal Maze, or whatever) in the GDP figures, and blame Germany when the "contraction" happens. Yeah, right...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The panel created to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis said Tuesday that banks and other financial institutions are stronger now but regulators must remain alert to new risks including the danger posed from cyber attack. In its annual report to Congress, the Financial Stability Oversight Council said recent cyberattacks have heightened concerns about the potential of even more destructive attacks that could significantly disrupt the workings of the financial system.  It said that greater attention must be paid to developing ways to combat computer hackers and it urged greater collaboration among financial institutions and government agencies to share data that could help thwart a growing threat.

"Over the past year, financial sector organizations and other U.S. businesses experienced numerous cyber incidents, including large-scale data breaches that compromised financial information," the panel said in its report.  The council was created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act which Congress passed in the wake of the worst financial crisis in seven decades. It is chaired by Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and includes representatives from other government financial regulatory agencies including the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.  Lew was critical of legislation being pushed by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, which Lew said would put the country at greater risks of another crisis.  "Senator Shelby's bill ... contains changes to our financial regulatory framework that would roll back the clock and leave us with weakened oversight, fewer consumer protections and less effective tools to address risks in the system," Lew said. "It would also needlessly tie this council in knots with delays and hurdles that would significantly impair our ability to identify and mitigate threats to financial stability, while leaving potential risk unchecked."  Shelby's bill would raise the asset threshold for banks whose failure would present the greatest risks to the financial system from $50 billion to $500 billion. These banks are subject to greater regulatory oversight. The measure also gives regulators greater oversight powers over the Federal Reserve.  Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who did not address the pending legislation in her remarks, said that the largest and most complex banking firms have made "great strides" in building up their capital cushions. But she said more work is needed to understand new threats posed by rapidly changing markets.  "While we have made considerable progress in recent years in reforming the financial system, our job is not done," Yellen said. "We must continually look ahead to new risks to build and maintain the resilient financial system that can support economic growth."

Compromises and coalitions between parties is new in Spain where more than 30 years of alternating power between the socialists and the conservatives is being challenged by an increasingly fragmented political system including anti-austerity party Podemos and centrist Ciudadanos.

The biggest changes have been the move towards the new left parties in Barcelona and maybe also in Madrid - depending on a possible pact between a Podemos-supporting coalition called Ahora Madrid and the Social Democrats (PSOE).  It would be the first time the Spanish capital would have a leftwing Mayor in the last 25 years. “It is clear that a majority for change has won,” said Manuela Carmena, the 71 year-old emeritus judge of the Spanish Supreme Court who wants to become Madrid’s new mayor.  She is one seat short of Madrid’s former conservative Mayor Esperanza Aguirre. However, with the support of Social Democrats – who came third - the left-wing parties could together hold the absolute majority in Madrid.  Barcelona’s new Mayor Ada Colau calls for “more social justice” and leads a coalition of left-wing parties and citizens’ organisations called ‘Barcelona en Comú’, which includes members of Podemos.

“We are proud that this process hasn’t just been an exception in Barcelona, this is an unstoppable democratic revolution in Catalonia, in [Spain] and hopefully in southern Europe,” Colau said last night after it became clear that she had won a small majority in the Catalan capital.

Colau, a former anti-eviction activist, was one of the founders of a platform for people affected by mortgages - Plataforma Afectados por la Hipoteca (PAH) - which won the European Parliament’s European Citizens’ Prize in 2013.  The PAH was set up in response to the hike in evictions caused by abusive mortgage clauses during the collapse of the Spanish property market eight years ago. Colau herself entered politics last year calling for “more and better democracy” and a clean-up of corruption in politics.  “It is the end of bipartisanship,” Podemos leader and MEP Pablo Iglesias said on Sunday. “May this Spring bring us flying to November”, he added on Twitter, referring to the Spanish general election.  Together, the two mainstream parties PP and PSOE represented 51 percent of the votes yesterday - much less than the 65 percent four years ago.  Centrist party Ciudadanos was the third most voted party although not as big a force as polls had expected. However, the party will hold a kingmaker role in many municipalities and in minimum three regions.

Although Podemos comes in as the fourth most voted party, the party’s real success has been merging with other local grassroot parties also calling for social change.  The social indignados movement - also called 15M movement - that camped out on the main squares across Spain in 2011 calling for a radical change in Spanish politics, has now turned into political representation.  Sunday’s elections in the 13 out of 17 regions and in over 8000 municipalities is likely to be a preview of the results of the Spanish General election expected for the end of the year.   Despite the Spanish economy picking up after years of an economic crisis, the former established parties are still being punished for the continuing high unemployment - especially among young people - and for corruption scandals that have marred their reputation. The necessary pacts and coalitions could lead to drawn out and complicated negotiations. In the southern region of Andalucia, which held elections in March, the socialist minority government has failed three times to secure the majority vote needed to form a government.

Cameron received a boost when the Open Europe think tank, which campaigns for major changes to the EU, gave an upbeat assessment of his chances on EU negotiations. It suggested that the prime minister had a good chance to win support for his plans to restrict in-work benefits for EU migrants and to secure protections for non-euro zone members of the EU. It even suggested that Cameron may be able to achieve the changes without rewriting treaties.

Raoul Ruparel, Open Europe’s head of economic research, said: “David Cameron will be squeezed between those who say no substantial reforms in Europe are possible and those who seek to set the bar so high that it is effectively code for exit before even trying to fundamentally reform the EU.

“He should ignore both camps and instead seek to balance the priorities of the UK public, businesses and his own party along with the achievability of the reforms in Europe.”

The prime minister has made a point of binding the Thatcherite right into his EU renegotiation plans by appointing the arch-Eurosceptic John Whittingdale to the cabinet as culture secretary. Priti Patel, who worked for Sir James Goldsmith, the founder of the short-lived Referendum party, during the 1997 general election campaign, attends cabinet as the employment minister.

Open Europe has released a detailed analysis of 30 areas of reform in the EU. The report suggests that there is a reasonable chance of success in the four broad areas where the prime minister is demanding change.

The European Parliament (EP) has adopted new rules to fight money laundering. This is the final step in the adoption of the legislation. The EU Council already approved the text as agreed in the negotiations between both institutions. The changes are set to come into force in the second half of 2017.  These new rules are to safeguard the stability of the financial system from money laundering and terrorist financing. Moreover, they will provide authorities with new tools to prevent criminals from legalising illicit proceeds.  Krišjānis Kariņš MEP, Parliament's co-negotiator, said: “Authorities need new means to effectively deal with criminals legalizing illicit proceeds by using the anonymity of offshore companies and accounts. The register of beneficial ownership is a powerful tool which will help in the fight against money laundering and blatant tax evasion.”

Illegally-laundered money accounts for as much as 5% of the world's GDP and is a challenge both for the competitiveness of those working legally in the sector as well as for government coffers. The 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive is aimed at limiting the scope of criminal and terrorist activity in Europe.

Recent data presented by the European Commission shows that every year in the EU approx. 200 000 companies are subject to bankruptcy proceedings, of which 25% have a cross-border dimension. Today the European Parliament gave its green light to new rules on cross-border insolvency proceedings, which will facilitate the restructuring of these companies. Moreover, the rules will allow a clear designation of the competent court, preventing "forum shopping", which means finding the court that could provide a more favorable judgment.

"The financial and economic crises showed us that we need more efficient and effective rules on cross-border insolvency procedures that will not only be fair for both creditors and debtors but also give honest entrepreneurs a chance to restructure companies so they can operate better in the future," said the Rapporteur, Tadeusz Zwiefka MEP, EPP Group spokesperson in the Legal Affairs Committee.  Due to the changes in regulation, a new procedure will be established for groups of companies, which are subject to insolvency proceedings before different national courts. The system will be an optional instrument, meaning that within 30 days of receiving notification of the request to open the coordination proceedings, the liquidator of a company may decide to opt-out if he considers this to be more beneficial for the represented company.  "We wanted to ensure that all possible abuses in the field of jurisdiction are avoided. In this context the result of the negotiations can be seen as reasonable and beneficial for all interested parties," added MEP Zwiefka.  Furthermore, the new rules will create an electronic register for better monitoring of cross-border insolvency proceedings in the EU and also a standard claim form, available in all official EU languages.  The vote ends the EU legislative procedure and the regulation will enter into force on the twentieth day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The International Monetary Fund has ruled out striking a “quick and dirty” deal with Greece, after European leaders failed to reach an agreement over the country's future at a summit in Riga on Friday.  As Greece’s senior creditor, there have been fears the IMF is ready to pull the plug on another financial aid package unless a “comprehensive” agreement is reached with Athens soon.

Fund chief Christine Lagarde dismissed the prospect of a partial release of bail-out cash that would keep Greece solvent up until the autumn.   “It has to be a comprehensive approach, not a quick and dirty job,” Ms Lagarde told an audience in Rio. “I know there is a lot of work to be done. Parties are now working, receiving proposals, working in cooperation and we will continue to do so as fast as we can.”  Her comments came after Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras met with his French and German counterparts on the sidelines of a European leaders summit in Riga.  EU did do a lot of work and meetings to keep greece in but giving money to a hole to fill it is a big mistake. Greece take money to pay for the debt which is own to the same bank and EU did play enough this bank role...Greece did a lot of work to survive but its state and government has no money but most of the Greeks have their own money taken from their banks which also must be filled by the EU.. If this game play longer than greece will eat the EU states too and still will need more money because euro it is still to strong and it did eat both greece and EU and maybe the rest of the world. Euro was built to destroy not build and unite and improve the EU life and structure. Euro must be half of the dollar to start changing things for good and that may happen after ECB print 10 trillions more....so ECB must continue printing,use Siberia forest,wood...In Riga today the EU gave the Ukraine a loan of 1.5 Billion Euros. The Ukraine wants to know a timeline of when It can expect to join the EU.  There were also draft discussions on the widening of the " Union " to include the other remaining entry candidates of eastern Europe to the EU including Georgia and Moldova.