Europe

Over 50 leading financiers have expressed their support for a European Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) ahead of a meeting of Finance Ministers in Brussels next week. In an open letter to European leaders, the financiers argue the FTT will reduce financial instability and raise significant additional government revenue.

Europe’s 20 biggest banks are registering over a quarter of their profits in tax havens – well out of proportion to the level of real economic activity that occurs there, according to a new report by Oxfam and the Fair Finance Guide International today.

Global ballet star Irina Kolesnikova aims to show how art can respond to one of Europe’s most urgent crises with a new dance production set in a refugee camp following trip to Western Balkans with Oxfam.

As the number of people fleeing to Europe passes one million, Oxfam is calling on the international community to address what is a global crisis. The uncomfortable truth is that the conflicts and brutality fuelling refugee migration have grown in recent years to unprecedented levels. 

Oxfam welcomes today’s orientation debate on the EU Emissions Trading System as some Member States spoke out in favor of the ETS being a more predictable source of funds for climate action in poor countries.

The number of refugees arriving in Europe needs to be put in perspective, Oxfam said today, calling on wealthy states to help refugees and poor communities in countries neighboring Syria. 

Poverty and inequality in Europe have reached shocking levels, according to a new Oxfam report.

Russia’s absence from the G7 summit is a stark warning to Europe that political turmoil on its doorstep risks an energy price crisis, at the same time as the effects of climate change on food imports could drive up costs.

Commenting on the failure of EU Energy Ministers to reach agreement on EU biofuel policy today, Marc Olivier Herman, Oxfam’s biofuels expert said:

European austerity programs have dismantled the mechanisms that reduce inequality and enable equitable growth.