European Commission Competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, has opened another State aid investigation into the deals that EU tax authorities offer to certain companies – most notably to multinational corporations – that may go against EU state aid rules. This investigation will look into a system of tax exemptions offered by the Belgian tax administration through so-called […]
Archives for 2015
‘Invest for Growth’ vs ‘More Structural Reform’ – New Tune?
As parliamentarians across the EU discussed economic governance in the EP this week, French socialist Ms Pervenche Berès, responsible for an EP report evaluating the EU’s economic governance framework, and EP vice president, Finnish liberal Olli Rehn, said they believe in a mixture of structural reforms and investment to help boost the economy. “The euro area […]
Altapura, Val Thorens – Ski Palace Perfection
You’ve heard of a ‘ski palace’, right? Me neither. Not until I ascended into the clouds surrounding Val Thorens and was greeted by the five star Altapura hotel. At a heady altitude of 2300m, it could have been the lack of oxygen, or the sheer elegance of the hotel, hard to say – but I […]
Koh I Nor, Val Thorens – Sparkling Luxury
Val Thorens, is “Anti-Bling Luxury” or so the tourist board says; they have a point. Even though the newest hotel on the block is named after a 105.6 carat diamond, the feeling is still of ‘do what you like, as you like, when you like’. Pretention dissipates and that in itself is a promising start […]
The Merrion Hotel, Dublin. Hidden Treasure, Elegant Delight.
Merrion Square is the epitome of Georgian Dublin. Wandering around, it is hard to believe that around 250 years ago the area was farmland on the edge of Dublin city. A far cry from the plush, leafy suburbia that it is today. As a child, Oscar Wilde lived at No 1 where rumour has it […]
EBX Q&A – With Peter McCann, General Manager of The Merrion Hotel, Dublin
Sarah-Jayne Smith speaks with Peter McCann, General Manager of The Merrion Hotel, Dublin EBX: What motivates you most – in practical terms, and in emotional terms? PMcC: Emotionally, it’s the people that who work in the hotel. You can be having a bad day and meet someone who puts you in a good mood. We […]
Paris Roadmap Gets Its Bearings With Cañete
The roadmap to the 21st UN climate conference, in Paris (France) in December, was debated by MEPs, the Latvian Presidency and Commissioner Arias Cañete on Wednesday. The conference of parties (COP21) to the UN Convention on Climate Change aims to deliver a worldwide climate agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol. During the debate, MEPs emphasized […]
“EU At Constant Risk Of Energy Supply Disruption”
The EU is at constant risk of energy supply disruption. Too much energy is wasted and 10% of households in the Union cannot afford proper heating, the Commission vice-president for energy union told Parliament’s energy and environment committees this week. Maroš Šefčovič was presenting his vision for an energy union to tackle these and other […]
“Solidarity should not replace necessary decisions,” – Schäuble
EU solidarity should not replace decisions that must be taken in countries suffering economic difficulties, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble told Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee MEPs in Tuesday’s special debate on the review of the economic governance framework. His Italian colleague Pier Carlo Paduan, vehemently rejected criticism of measures to bring down Italy’s deficit […]
Buttarelli Says: “Make data protection rights more effective”
Speaking in a Q&A session, Giovanni Buttarelli, the new European Data Protection Supervisor said: “The EU has to make existing data protection rights more effective in practice, and to allow citizens to more easily exercise their rights at a time when we all run our entire lives with our smartphones” Over the coming five years […]