Croatia's political weaknesses will slow growth

Significance Inflation seems to have returned to the economy following three years of near-continual deflation. After years in the doldrums, the Croatian economy is finally experiencing respectable growth and various indicators are now pointing in the right direction. However, the recovery is based on short-term factors that cannot easily be sustained, and the foundations of the economy remain weak. Impacts The current spate of growth is helping to prop up a weak government and a socio-economic model to which many Croats are averse. Respectable growth has lifted business confidence in the third quarter to its highest level since 2009. Apparent economic convergence with the rest of the EU is reviving the question whether and when Croatia should adopt the euro.

Significance The results have destabilised relations within the alliance involving the League, Brothers of Italy (FdI) and Forza Italia (FI), and increased speculation that FI may ally with moderate parties instead. The election results reflect the popularity of Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government of national unity. Impacts The stability of Draghi’s government may boost Italy’s chances of influencing reforms to the EU’s fiscal policy framework. The election result reflects the wider recovery in business confidence already evidenced in Italy. Based on polling trends, Giorgia Meloni’s FdI is in a strong position to be the leading populist party after the next election. Meloni’s rise could increase tensions between FdI and the League, as the latter is accustomed to being the dominant party in the polls.


2006 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Buti ◽  
João Nogueira Martins

AbstractThe EU fiscal framework has often been criticised for not providing Member States with the right incentives to adopt structural reforms which would reduce implicit liabilities and improve sustainability. The Pact, as reformed in 2005, now includes a number of provisions that explicitly consider sustainability and the need of Member States of embarking in bold structural measures that contribute to reduce their implicit liabilities. The pressure for short-term consolidation in SGP-I has, in part, shifted towards structural reforms. Overall, the reformed SGP will moderately help Member States in adopting structural reforms and reducing their implicit liabilities.


1984 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 777-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samruay Shuangshoti ◽  
Vira Kasantikul ◽  
Nitaya Suwanwela ◽  
Charas Suwanwela

✓ A case is presented of a solitary primary extracerebral mixed glioma occurring in the right suprasellar and parasellar region of a 49-year-old woman who had bilateral temporal hemianopsia for 3 months. At craniotomy, the well demarcated outline and extracerebral location of the tumor suggested that it was a meningioma. However, its gliomatous nature was confirmed by identification of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the tumor cells. Review of nine reported solitary primary intracranial extracerebral gliomas, including the present case, revealed that they tended to occur in the third to fifth decades of life, in patients with an average age of 42½ years, and without sexual predilection. All were supratentorial with a tendency to be situated in the vicinity of the Sylvian fissure. Only the glioma in the present case was at the cranial base. They were diagnosed as three astrocytomas, two glioblastomas, two oligodendrogliomas, one astroblastoma, and one mixed glioma. A suggestion is made that all these gliomas arose primarily from heterotopic neuroglia in the leptomeninges.


Subject Prospects for Europe in the third quarter. Significance For the rest of June and the third quarter, the EU will grapple with the future positions within the bloc of two member states, the United Kingdom and Greece. The period will see the resolution, one way or another, of the immediate crisis in Greece's relations with its international creditors. The way in which this takes place will have profound implications for the future of the single currency.


Subject Russia-US relations and its impact on the Russian economy. Significance Cautious hopes of improvement in US-Russian relations have boosted investor sentiment towards the Russian economy. Improved relations have the potential to spur Russian economic recovery, backed by stabilising global oil prices and reviving domestic demand. US President-elect Donald Trump's more favourable stance give Russian assets a perceived comparative advantage over other emerging economies, encouraging short-term speculative investment. Impacts A complete or partial lifting of US sanctions would encourage the EU to take similar action. Improved relations will divert funds to Russia from other emerging markets. A renewed flow of US technology and know-how would benefit Russian financial institutions and corporates. Russian oil companies will exploit US technologies to develop Arctic deposits.


Subject The government's latest GDP expectations for 2016-19. Significance On September 19, days before surviving a parliamentary no-confidence vote, the government announced GDP projections for 2016-19, based on improvements in consumption growth and the labour market, where registered unemployment hovers at historically low levels. Despite its weakened position following the recent departure of junior coalition partner Siet, Smer-Social Democracy (SD) is upbeat about the prospects for robust GDP growth in 2016, revising its forecast upwards to 3.6% from 3.2%. Impacts Industrial output, GDP and inflationary pressures may pick up post-2018, as consumers spend more and auto industry investments create jobs. The government may miss its targets in the short term, but fiscal deficits should remain below the EU limit of 3% of GDP in 2016-18. More public-private partnerships, modelled on the Bratislava ring-road, plus EU funding, may support infrastructure investment after 2017.


Significance Turkey's faltering EU accession process looks more at risk than ever, following Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn's warning that Ankara had "clearly chosen to move away from Europe, not closer to it". Hahn was presenting the European Commission's 2016 Enlargement Package, which is much more critical of Turkey than of the six Western Balkans countries that are either accession candidates like Turkey or potential candidates. Yet when it comes to terminating Turkey's candidacy, both the Turkish and EU authorities want the other to make the move. In the short term, some EU capitals fear a wave of migrants should Ankara stop cooperating in policing the Aegean; in the longer term, Turkey's economy could suffer. Impacts The EU's interest in Western Balkan security, stability and prosperity will keep enlargement to these countries on track, at least formally. However, the Dutch referendum vote against Ukraine's association agreement shows popular feeling spreading in the EU against enlargement. Turkey's customs union with the EU underpins its recent economic upturn; it is hard to see it continuing without the prospect of membership. Resumed use of the East Mediterranean route depends on Turkey but also on migrants' hopes of being able to cross borders further north.


Significance The change of president and government in late January has shifted the power balance in favour of the Socialist Party (BSP), but the centre-right Citizens for Bulgaria’s European Development (GERB) is still the stronger political force. The three most influential parties -- GERB, BSP and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) -- are all focused on preserving the political and economic status quo, and on opposing radical judicial reform as demanded by the EU. Pro-reform forces to the right of GERB are in disarray, while the nationalist parties are united and on the rise. Impacts GERB has yet to find itself a role that could win it another victory over the BSP, as in 2014. As the weaker party, the BSP will be more aggressive in exploiting anti EU sentiment. Long-anticipated judicial reform will remain elusive. The degree of Bulgaria's distance from Brussels will be influenced primarily by events and elections in Western Europe.


Subject Prospects for Central-Eastern Europe in 2017. Significance In the absence of robust business confidence, Central Europe and the Baltic states (CEB) will implement short-term monetary and fiscal policies to support growth; GDP growth will suffer from global market vicissitudes and rising political tensions in key trading partners inside and outside the EU. The crisis in the EU will continue to bear down on South-Eastern Europe (SEE), bringing an effective end to the policy of enlargement.


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