Latest news with #StephanieLose
LBCI
4 days ago
- Business
- LBCI
EU gives green light for Bulgaria to join euro
EU finance ministers gave the final green light on Tuesday for Bulgaria to adopt the euro on January 1, 2026. "This marks the culmination of a thorough process towards Bulgaria's accession, comprising rigorous analysis and intensive preparation," Stephanie Lose, economy minister for Denmark, which holds the EU's rotating presidency. AFP
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Bulgaria gets go-ahead to switch to euro currency next year
Bulgaria is set to become the 21st member of the eurozone next year, after European Union finance ministers signed off on its bid on Tuesday. Taking up the European single currency is the culmination of nearly two decades of work toward adoption, an ambition since Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007. The eurozone will recruit a new member as European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde raises the issue of the currency's global profile, with US trade policy diminishing the standing of the dollar. Successive governments in Sofia have argued the move will help raise living standards in the EU's poorest member state. Still, Bulgarians are increasingly divided on ditching the lev and the prospect of rising prices. Thousands protested the decision last week, with one arrest after clashes with police on Friday. The ECB and the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, confirmed last month the Balkan nation met the formal requirements to join. On Tuesday, the European Parliament approved Bulgaria's bid to join, and the EU finance ministers approved the final legal acts unanimously. They also approved the exchange rate under which Bulgaria will manage its currency switch, which corresponds to the existing lev-euro peg. 'This marks the culmination of a thorough process towards Bulgaria's accession, comprising rigorous analysis and intensive preparation,' said Danish economic affairs Minister Stephanie Lose in a statement after the finance ministers' meeting, calling Bulgaria's successful bid 'a tremendous achievement'. Bulgaria would be the second country to adopt the euro in the past decade and one of only a handful to do so since the euro crisis threatened to bring down the currency zone. The last member to join was Croatia in 2023. As part of their accession treaties, all EU members are bound to adopt the euro once meeting the criteria. However, other EU nations, including Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary have been less eager to join, opting instead to retain monetary sovereignty. The switch will put an end to the country's currency board arrangement that nearly three decades ago fixed the Bulgarian lev to the deutsche mark and later the euro. The board, which effectively put a halt to Bulgaria's independent monetary policy, was designed to end hyperinflation and debt turmoil that ensued as Bulgaria transitioned from Soviet-style regulation to a market economy in the 1990s. Now Bulgaria's central bank governor, Dimitar Radev, will become a member of the ECB's rate-setting Governing Council, regaining some control over monetary policy. Read More Euro zone finance ministers recommend Bulgaria adopt euro in 2026
Euronews
5 days ago
- Business
- Euronews
15 EU countries allowed to violate deficit limit for defence spending
EU finance ministers on Tuesday granted 15 member states the right to deviate from the bloc's fiscal rules in order to massively ramp up defence spending. 'At this critical juncture, investment in our defence capabilities must remain our top priority," Stephanie Lose, Economic Affairs Minister for Denmark, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, said in a statement. "Today's activation of the national escape clause will allow member states to ramp up defence spending while maintaining sustainable public finances," she added. The countries that have seen their request to activate the national escape clause in the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) approved are Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia. Germany has also asked to benefit from more lenient fiscal rules for defence but the Council of the EU is not yet in a position to make a decision as Berlin, whose new government took office in April, has not submitted its medium-term fiscal-structural plan outlining the priority public investments and reforms for the coming years. They're expected to do so before the end of the month, with their request to activate the national escape clause likely to be voted on in September. A 2030 deadline The measure allows those member states to boost defence spending by 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) annually for four years without consequences even if this brings their total deficit over the 3% of GDP limit mandated in the SGP. It is part of the EU's €800 billion 'Readiness 2030' plan to ramp up defence expenditures over the coming four years with the European Commission previously estimating it could see up to €650 billion poured into the sector. The 16 EU countries that will benefit from more lenient fiscal rules are also members of the NATO military alliance that agreed late last month to more than double its defence spending target to 5% of GDP by 2035. The new target represents a huge ask for some EU allies with a few - Belgium, Italy, Hungary, Romania, France, Poland, Slovakia - already targeted by Brussels with an Excessive Deficit Procedure due to the poor state of their public finances. Neutral Malta is also being closely monitored under the same procedure. While deviating from the fiscal rules for defence will not see them penalised, these eight countries "remain bound by the budgetary rules and must remain committed to the implementation of the revised economic governance framework irrespective of the clause's activation" for all other expenses, the statement from the Council also said. The 27 EU member states are meanwhile currently evaluating whether to participate in SAFE, the other major financial pillar included in the plan to rearm the EU. They're expected to pitch in their projects and requests for funding towards the end of the month with the Commission set to start raising the €150 billion for the scheme on the markets at the beginning of 2026. The new EU arms race comes amid warnings by intelligence agencies that Russia could be in a position to attack another European country towards the end of the decade.
Russia Today
6 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
NATO state issues warning over ramping up defense spending
EU nations risk 'increased debt levels and unsustainable finances' if they raise defense spending too quickly, Danish Economy Minister Stephanie Lose has warned. EU and NATO members are pushing to invest billions of euros in troops and weapons. NATO leaders agreed last month to increase the target for defense spending from 2% to 5% of GDP, with 3.5% allocated directly to the military and the remainder directed toward broader security initiatives. Brussels previously unveiled the €800 billion ($940 billion) 'ReArm Europe' program. Denmark is among 12 EU nations taking advantage of a special 'national escape clause', which allows them to bypass the EU's budget deficit rules when borrowing for military purposes. Lose told Euractiv that she does not fault countries such as France and Italy for opting out, in an interview published on Monday. 'It's good if you adhere to sound public finances... if it means that they're exploring ways to fulfill the 3.5% NATO goal without being on an unsustainable path,' she said, adding that if the reluctance indicates a lack of room to boost defense spending, 'then it's, of course, a problem.' Speaking ahead of an EU ministerial meeting that she is set to chair Monday – as Denmark currently holds the rotating presidency of the bloc – Lose cited US trade tariffs and competition from China as additional pressures limiting the EU's ability to increase military investment. European NATO members say they need to increase their defense budgets to deter the alleged threat from Russia, which has denied that it poses any threat to these countries, accusing Western officials of using fear to justify the budget increases, as well as the decline in the standard of living among their citizens. Western Europe's industrial competitiveness has fallen since EU leaders reduced Russian energy imports, which supported the region's industries for decades. The move was part of sanctions against Russia due to the Ukraine conflict. Russia considers the conflict to be a result of NATO expansion, saying the US-led military bloc presents a direct threat to national security.
Euractiv
6 days ago
- Business
- Euractiv
Military spending splurge ‘risk factor' for EU economy, says Denmark
COPENHAGEN – The EU's push to boost military expenditure could undermine the bloc's financial stability unless EU countries curb soaring deficit and debt levels, according to Denmark's economy minister. Stephanie Lose told Euractiv that Europe must ramp up defence spending 'very quickly' to deter Russia's growing military threat, but warned this outlay may pose an additional 'risk' to the bloc's economy, which is already reeling from the twin impact of US tariffs and fierce Chinese competition. 'At the same time as there is this unrest in the economies across the world, [we] need to boost defence spending very quickly,' said Lose, whose country took over the rotating Council presidency from Poland earlier this month. 'That is a risk factor for our economies, because if we don't combine that with wise decisions on ways to a more sustainable path for public finances, then I guess it will be a problem in terms of increased debt levels and unsustainable finances,' she added. Lose's comments come after NATO members last month pledged to increase military spending to 3.5% of annual GDP by 2035, almost double the US-led alliance's previous 2% target. The 32-member military bloc – which includes 23 of the EU's 27 member states – also agreed to allocate an additional 1.5% of total output to security-related infrastructure. Spain, however, secured an opt-out allowing it to spend just 2.1% in total on defence. Sixteen EU countries – including Denmark – have also heeded the European Commission's recent call to activate the 'national escape clause," a key component of President Ursula von der Leyen's €800 billion 'ReArm Europe' plan to ward off Moscow's threat to the continent. Activating the clause allows capitals to spend an additional 1.5% on defence without contravening the bloc's fiscal rules, which limit member states' deficits to 3%. However, France, Italy, and Spain – the EU's second, third, and fourth-largest economies – have refrained from invoking the clause amid concerns about their already high budget deficits. France and Italy are also among nine EU countries currently subject to a so-called 'excessive deficit procedure," or formal reprimand, by the Commission for breaching the bloc's 3% fiscal threshold. Lose, who will attend her first meeting of European finance ministers as Council chair on Monday, said she couldn't 'judge' France, Italy, and Spain's decisions not to activate the clause, as this depends on their underlying motivations. 'On one side, it's good if you adhere to sound public finances: so if it means that they're exploring ways to fulfil the 3.5% NATO goal without being on an unsustainable path to a higher extent than they already are, then that's, of course, great news,' she said. '[But] if it symbolises that there won't be any room at all to boost defence spending, then it's, of course, a problem,' she added. (mm)
