Latest news with #financeMinisters
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Eurozone finance ministers give green light for Bulgaria to use euro
Eurozone countries on Thursday gave Bulgaria the green light to use the euro, with Sofia set to introduce the common currency in January 2026. Bulgaria is set to become the 21st EU member state to use the euro after finance ministers of eurozone countries gave their approval to the European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB). The commission backed the move earlier this month, concluding that Bulgaria fulfils the necessary requirements to join the monetary union. The criteria for joining include price stability, sound public finances and stable exchange rates. Bulgaria has been a member of the EU since 2007 and had previously planned to replace its national currency, the lev, with the euro in 2024, but the adoption was postponed due to a comparatively high inflation rate of 9.5% at the time. The commission recently said it expects an inflation rate of 3.6% for Bulgaria in the current year and 1.8% in 2026. In Bulgaria, the possible introduction of the euro has been accompanied by fierce protests. According to an opinion poll conducted by the Bulgarian Mjara institute in May, more than half of adults (54.9%) are against the introduction of the euro in 2026, while 34.4% are in favour of joining. The next step is for the finance ministers of all EU countries to approve the plans before EU leaders discuss Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone at the end of June. Finally, after consulting the European Parliament and the ECB, the member states must adopt the necessary legal acts at finance minister level.
Zawya
09-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
EAC ministers suspend new levies on high-risk products pending review
East African Community finance ministers have suspended the implementation of new levies on lubricating oils, aluminium bars and active yeast, which are considered high-risk products, and referred the taxation proposal to the regional sectoral committee on customs for further analysis. The committee on customs is expected to report back to the finance ministers during the next pre-budget consultations meeting in May next year, according to the resolutions of the meeting by the EAC Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SCTIFI) held in Arusha, Tanzania, from 26-30 May. Read: EAC adopts new levies on 'high risk' products to curb unscrupulous tradersThe new rates had been planned to take effect from July 1 this year.'It was agreed that the matter be referred to the Sectoral Committee on Customs for further technical analysis and that the proposed specific duties be deferred pending the outcome of this review,' the report of the meeting states. During its 45th meeting held in November last year, SCTIFI adopted $0.46 per litre as a specific duty rate on lubricating oils so that the rate will be 25 percent or the $0.46, whichever is higher, and $700 per tonne as a specific duty rate on active yeast so that the rate will be 25 percent or the $700, whichever is higher. It also adopted $690 per tonne as a specific duty rate on aluminium bars, rods and profiles so that the rate will be 25 percent or the $ 690, whichever is higher. These duties followed a directive by the ministers of finance during the pre-budget consultations in May 2023 that required member states and the EAC Secretariat to identify high-risk products and assign a specific duty rate to address issues related to under-invoicing and undervaluation. The suspension of the proposed rates is expected to allow Tanzania more time to complete consultations with the relevant stakeholders on the proposed rates. It is also expected to allow the sectoral committee on customs to relook at additional factors such as whether the products are imported from the same country or countries of export and whether the imports occur at or about the same period. Read: Slow progress on harmonising standards affecting EAC tradeDuring the pre-budget consultations last month, Tanzania said that national consultations with relevant stakeholders had been concluded and highlighted the need to address a few outstanding issues before adoption of the proposed specific duty rates. The meeting agreed that a re-analysis should be undertaken to determine the identical nature of the products based on a number of parameters, such as the percentage of aluminium content relative to other metals in the alloy, the proportion of base oil relative to other additives or constituents (lubricating oils) and the material composition of the product (Active yeast). The finance ministers also noted that additional factors such as whether the products are imported from the same country of export and whether the imports occur at or about the same period should be considered. Customs valuation is a major feature and concern of modern customs tariff systems since it is important for assessment of customs duties for purposes of generating revenues or as a means of encouraging and protecting domestic industries. © Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. ( James Anyanzwa
Reuters
28-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Bulgaria likely to get EU Commission go-ahead to adopt euro from 2026, officials say
BRUSSELS, May 28 (Reuters) - The European Commission is likely to give Bulgaria the green light on June 4 to adopt the euro currency from the start of 2026, several euro zone officials said, making Bulgaria the 21st country to join the single currency area. The Commission will publish a "convergence report" next Wednesday on whether Bulgaria meets the criteria to adopt the euro, now used by 347 million Europeans in 20 countries. Three senior euro zone officials said they expected the Commission report to be positive for Bulgaria, which has been striving to switch its lev currency to the euro ever since it joined the European Union in 2007. Becoming a member of the euro zone, apart from using euro notes and coins, also means a seat at the European Central Bank's rate-setting Governing Council. The ECB will issue its own assessment on June 4 whether it thinks the country is ready, and if its central bank is independent. It is the Commission's view that is decisive, however. A positive recommendation from the EU executive arm would mean that EU finance ministers would endorse it and fix the conversion exchange rate for the Bulgarian lev into the euro in July, leaving the rest of the year for the country to technically prepare for the transition. For a positive recommendation, Bulgaria has to meet the inflation criterion, which says that the euro-candidate cannot have consumer inflation higher than 1.5 percentage points above the three best EU performers. In April, the best performers were France with 0.9%, Cyprus with 1.4% and Denmark with 1.5%, which put Bulgaria with its 2.8% just within the limit. The euro candidate country also cannot be under the EU's disciplinary budget procedure for running a deficit in excess of 3% of GDP. Bulgaria meets this criterion with a budget deficit of 3.0% in 2024 and 2.8% expected in 2025. The country's public debt of 24.1% of GDP in 2024 and 25.1% expected in 2025 is well below the maximum level of 60%, and its long-term interest rate on bonds is well within the 2 percentage point margin above the rate at which the three best inflation performers borrow. Finally, the euro candidate country has to prove it has a stable exchange rate by staying within a 15% margin on either side of a central parity rate in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II. Bulgaria has been running a currency board that fixed the lev to the euro at 1.95583 since the start of the euro currency in 1999. Bulgaria's euro adoption will come three years after the last euro zone expansion, when Croatia joined the single currency grouping at the start of 2023. The Commission will also look at whether Bulgaria's economy and markets are integrated with the rest of the EU, as well as the trends in the country's balance of payments.
CTV News
23-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
CTV National News: Notable omissions from G7 finance ministers' joint statement
Watch While G7 finance ministers were able to reach a joint statement, the communique has some notable omissions. Rachel Aiello explains.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
ALEX BRUMMER: Reeves hasn't 'fixed the economic foundations' - she's presiding over a looming disaster that could be as bad as Greece
As the Chancellor lives it up with her fellow G7 finance ministers at the £350-a-night Rimrock Resort Hotel in Canada 's Rocky Mountains, her credibility at home is draining away. Rachel Reeves 's claims to have fixed the public finances are sounding increasingly delusional as the economic outlook becomes more grim with every passing day.
