Despite the fact that European parliamentary elections are behind us, the news regarding the European Union continue.
Many chief politicians from the bloc are currently switching jobs. Sabine Weyand who was the deputy Brexit negotiator will now be in charge of trade. She will likely have to continue dealing with the United Kingdom actively, since if the UK leaves the EU, it will have to establish trade agreements with the bloc. Moreover, trade with the United States is also becoming an increasingly important topic, as Donald Trump is considering hitting the EU with tariffs. Thus Weyand will stay busy and we might hear her name a lot.
Weyand’s previous boss, Michel Barnier, is one of the main candidates to succeed Juncker at the head of the European Commission, along with several other notable politicians.
Meanwhile, Italy is once again coming to the forefront of negative news from the EU, this time because of problems with their public finances. There is a strict rule for EU members that they must keep their debt under 60% of the GDP. Italy’s debt this year is expected to be 133.7% of the GDP and is projected to keep increasing, instead of shrinking. If the Italian government does not take measures to prevent further increases, the country might get fined by the EU.
