Dueling diplomatic trips in Europe this summer by United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi sought to sway the European Union’s stance on the China-U.S. rivalry. Among other goals, Pompeo would like to convince more countries to pledge not to use parts made by Huawei and ZTE in their 5G infrastructure—allegedly to limit the Chinese government’s ability to spy on communications there—while Wang hopes to keep the EU from shutting itself off from Chinese 5G companies.

The euro is the second most important global currency after the US dollar. However, its international role has not increased since its inception in 1999. The private sector prefers using the US dollar rather than the euro because the financial market for US dollar-denominated assets is larger and deeper; network externalities and inertia also play a role. Increasing the attractiveness of the euro outside the euro area requires, among others, a proactive role for the European Central Bank and completing the Banking Union and Capital Market Union.

French President Emmanuel Macron accused the “Frugals”, i.e. the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, and Sweden (during the last European Council summit, Finland also joined this group) of “acting like Brexit Britain.” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had demanded a smaller proportion of grants – handing out money without having to repay it – instead of loans awarded by the EU Coronavirus Recovery Fund as well as oversight by the EU’s institutions over the use of funds.

This Policy Brief outlines the impact of the recent increase in minimum wage in Jordan, which will take effect in 2021. The paper also highlights Jordan Strategy Forum's recommendations to mitigate any negative impact of the wage increase, and links it with the increase in labor productivity.