Monti Warns Against Backtracking on Bailout Deal (9/27)

By Michael Mosettig

Italy's prime minister has fired a warning shot across the bow of three hard-line EU governments that seemed to be backtracking on a  June deal to help Spain and Ireland get their banking crises under control.

Appearing at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, this morning,  Prime Minister Mario Monti was asked about the Tuesday statement from the finance ministers of Germany, the Netherlands and Finland that said money from the newly-created European Stability Mechanism would not cover "legacy" debt that governments incurred before this year to bail out banks.
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EU Promises 700 Million Euros to Egypt (9/26)

By Erik Peterson, “European Affairs" Editorial Assistant

Undeterred by its economic crisis, the European Union has stepped forward with a sizeable aid package for Egypt, the key nascent democracy emerging from the Arab Awakening.

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European Union Opens Anti-dumping Investigation on Chinese Solar Panels (9/12)

By Erik Peterson, “European Affairs” Editorial Assistant

The European Union announced last week it was opening an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese solar panel companies, perhaps following the lead of the U.S. which has already taken preliminary action.

The complaint was submitted to the European Commission on July 25th by EU ProSun, an industry association that represents the majority of EU solar companies, including German firm SolarWorld. The complaint outlined in the European Commission memo alleges that solar products imported from China are entering the European market with prices below market value, giving the Chinese companies an unfair advantage.

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Polling Results From German Marshall Fund and Chicago Council on Global Affairs (9/12)

By Michael D. Mosettig

It's polling season again and not just in the last two months of the  U.S. Presidential elections. Two think tanks known for their comprehensive  surveys published  new studies of public opinion  this week, one barely  mentioning Europe and the other showing more parallel trans-Atlantic  attitudes than the daily headlines might suggest.

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German Constitutional Court and the European Bailout Fund (9/12)

UPDATE—This morning the German federal Constitutional court upheld German participation in the European bailout fund. But it did impose the condition that any more money for the 500 billion euro fund will require approval of the German parliament.

At 10 am Wednesday morning in Germany, a panel of eight judges will  issue a ruling on whether the permanent European bailout fund passes constitutional muster in that country.

The case has brought unprecedented international attention to the federal constitutional court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) that sits in  Karlsruhe, hundreds of miles southwest of Germany's political and economic  centers of Berlin, Munich and Hamburg.

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