This paper analyses labour demand and supply with respect to skills and tasks. The literature on this topic is abundant, especially in light of education expansion and the impact of technology on labour demand. The goal of this work is not to add evidence to the causes and effects of labour demand and supply but rather to sketch the broader picture of their equilibrium and then to try to anticipate what type of skills mismatch EU countries will encounter during the next decade.

The uprisings in the Arab Mediterranean have urged the international community and chiefly the EU to revise its policies towards the region. While the EU has proven to be a committed and reliable donor, its cooperation policies have done little in enhancing socioeconomic development prospects in the Southern Mediterranean. The new policies put forward by the European Commission in May 2011 as part of the European Neighbourhood Policy review aim at addressing the changing situation in the Arab Mediterranean.

After the Greek public debt crisis and the bilateral loans to Greece from the other members of the European Monetary Union (EMU), in May 2010 the Ecofin Council launched the European Financial Stabilization Mechanism (EFSM). In June of the same year the EMU countries instituted the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). These two mechanisms, which are charged with providing support to EMU countries in “exceptional difficulty”, received their baptism of fire with Ireland in January 2011 and successfully made their first bond issue on the market.

This paper reviews prevailing credit derivatives markets regulation and comments on the need to regulate these markets in light of the recent financial crisis. Although credit derivatives may have beneficial effects such as enhancing the resilience of the financial system, these benefits can only be reaped if credit derivatives are used prudently and responsibly by all market participants. We argue that the current regulatory regime is not sufficient to induce market participants to use credit derivatives in a desirable way.

This study on the economic integration of the Euro-Med region was conducted from December 2008 to September 2009 under contract with the European Commission (TRADE08/C2/C16). We benefited greatly from the consultations with the European Commission during the kick off meeting and from the subsequent exchange of comments and suggestions. We are very grateful for their support.