Latest Press Releases

French President Emmanuel Macron has laid out his vision for reform of the European Union and the Eurozone. In his speech, he called for Europe to strengthen its efforts in the fields of defence policy, common border management and development aid. Furthermore, Macron emphasised the need to harmonise tax and social policies and to shift competencies to the EU in these fields. As expected, he proposed once again to introduce a common budget for the Eurozone and a European finance minister. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, head of the Research Department “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim, comments on Macron's speech.

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The supervisory board of Air Berlin, which recently declared insolvency, today decided to continue negotiations with Lufthansa and budget airline Easyjet regarding the sale of the airline. The negotiations are expected to last until 12 October. Partial sales of the airline are a possible outcome. Professor Achim Wambach, PhD, president of ZEW and chairman of the Monopolies Commission, offers his view on the negotiations.

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The US Federal Reserve decided to keep its benchmark rate in a range between 1.0 and 1.25 per cent in September 2017. At the same time, the Fed announced that it will start shrinking its $4.5 trillion balance sheet in October. With the interest rate outlook remaining unchanged, another rate hike is likely to happen this year. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, head of the “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” Research Department at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim, comments on the Fed's latest decision.

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In his address, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker has called for the introduction of the euro in all EU Member States. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, head of the "Corporate Taxation and Public Finance" Research Department at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim, comments on Juncker's proposal for non-eurozone countries to join the EU's common currency.

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As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced today that, once again, it would not be adjusting its base rates, nor would it be making any changes to its outlook on interest rate policy. The outlook on the bond purchase programme remains equally unchanged from July’s communiqué, as the ECB confirmed the programme’s continuation. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, head of the Research Department “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim, offers his view on the ECB’s decision:

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The Federal Reserve decided to keep its interest rates unchanged in July after it hiked its benchmark rates up to between 1.0 to 1.25 per cent one month ago. The central bank announced it would begin rolling back its massive balance sheet “relatively soon”. However, it still remains unclear when exactly this will be. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, head of the Research Department “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim, offers his view on the Fed’s decision.

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As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) today announced that it would not be adjusting its base rates, nor would it be making any changes to its outlook on interest rate policy. This means that banks and savers will have to live with the ECB’s negative deposit rate of minus 0.4 per cent for quite a while longer. The ECB also could not bring itself to give any indication that it would soon end its current asset purchase programme under which the bank has been purchasing securities to the sum of 60 billion euros a month. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, head of the Research Department “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim, offers his view on the ECB’s actions.

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With his party “La République En Marche!”, French President Emmanuel Macron secured the parliament’s backing, emerging as a clear winner in the French parliamentary elections. Professor Achim Wambach, President of the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim, comments:

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The Federal Reserve has raised the Federal Funds Rate for the second time this year, increasing the interest rate level to a range between 1.0 and 1.25 per cent. The Fed is also planning to initiate a gradual reduction of its $4.5 trillion balance sheet before the end of the year. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, head of the Research Department “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim, offers his view on the Fed’s actions:

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As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) has announced to make no changes to its key interest rates and bond-buying programme. In its latest decision, the ECB has, however, taken into account the persistently high growth rates in the eurozone as well as the increased inflation rate. ECB President Mario Draghi expects the economic growth prospects in the eurozone to improve even further. Dr. Michael Schröder comments on the ECB’s decision:

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