The Eurozone has come under pressure from the world’s richest economies at the G8 summit being held in Northern Ireland, with the struggling region being told that it should press on with forming a banking union.
Leaders of the group of eight (G8) richest nations, which include Germany, Italy and France, said that a further strengthening of the rules for the Eurozone, including moves toward a banking union is ‘strongly needed’.
Eurozone finance ministers are due to discuss Europe’s banking union plans on Thursday as European Union leaders prepare gather for a summit next week. European officials are seeking to design a scheme to close troubled banks to complement a new system of cross-border supervision led by the European Central Bank from next year.
The G8 leaders also said that the worst has passed for the global economy as they discussed ways to promote growth and employment.
“Global economic prospects remain weak, though downside risks have reduced thanks in part to significant policy actions taken in the U.S., Euro area and Japan, Any new optimism is yet to be translated fully into broader improvements in economic activity and employment in most advanced economies,” according to the G8’s statement.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said European leaders agreed that “we have overcome the manifest crisis of confidence, but that a huge amount of work still lies ahead. Growth requires sound finances and structural change in EU economies”, she said.
The global economy remains fragile despite politicians trying to convince the markets that the worst is over. The International Monetary Fund only recently cut its forecast for global growth.
One ray of light however could be the free trade deal being negotiated between the USA and European Union which could be the biggest trade agreement in history and which has the potential to bring billions of income and create millions of new jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. An agreement over the terms isn’t expected to be reached for a few years however.
Current Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3370
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8563
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4145
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6778
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7472
The Pound Sterling /Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1713
The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7079
The New Zealand Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5955
(Correct as of 12:15 pm GMT)