Standard and Poor’s downgraded Croatia’s credit rating to junk on Friday, a development deemed “catastrophic” by a local analyst.”The Croatian government’s reforms have so far been insufficient to eliminate the structural rigidities that hamper the country’s growth potential,” the rating agency said in a statement explaining its decision to lower …

The Macedonian opposition has blocked the adoption of the national budget for next year, as it battles with the government over proposed loans.Parliament’s Commission on Financing and Budget is blocked with over 1,200 amendments submitted by the opposition Social Democrats, SDSM. This makes it uncertain whether the commission will have …

Following last autumn’s “state of the Union” speech, that outlined a vision for a federal Europe[1], the “Blueprint for a deep and genuine economic and monetary union”, unveiled recently by José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, to be submitted at the December 2012 European Union Summit and debated …