Chapter News

Regulatory responses to the global financial crisis in the EU and US: Implementation and enforcement of retail financial services regulation

Keynote address by Commissioner Jonathan Hill at the Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue, Brussels | Brussels, 27 January 2016 Regulatory responses to the global financial crisis in the EU and US: Implementation and enforcement of retail financial services regulation It's a great pleasure to be here at your annual conference and to have the opportunity to talk about financial services from the point of view of the consumer. We depend on a strong financial services industry to pay our bills, to...

Read more

Chapter News, News, Trade & TTIP Related

TTIP – A Chance for SME’s

Remarks by Anthony L. Gardner the U.S. Ambassador to the European Union at the European Parliament | January 26, 2016 Thank you to Dr. Heitz and SME Europe for the invitation to participate in this timely and important discussion today. SMEs lie at the heart of what we are seeking to achieve in TTIP. More and more European SMEs are speaking out in favor of what a transatlantic free trade agreement could mean for them. Here are just a few examples: From...

Read more

Member News

Critical Filing Dates for FY 2017 H-1B Cap

Employers who wish to sponsor H-1B workers for Fiscal Year 2017 can begin filing petitions on April 1, 2016 for a start date of October 1, 2016.  The H-1B visa is used by businesses who wish to employ foreign nationals to work in a specialty occupation requiring theoretical or technical expertise.  For FY 2017, cases will be considered accepted on the date that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) takes possession of the petition, not on the date it...

Read more

Chapter News

EU Commission invests € 63.8 million in new environmental projects across Member States

New LIFE funding will help bring over € 1 billion of support to environmental plans across the EU. The European Commission today announced an investment of € 63.8 million for the first-ever "Integrated Projects" to be funded under the LIFE programme for the environment. "Integrated Projects" were introduced to implement environmental legislation on a wider scale and increase the impact of funding for plans developed on the regional, multi-regional or national level. The six projects selected have a total budget...

Read more

Member News, New York Related News

Transatlantic frictions: N.Y. bank authority vs. German labor court

Acting under the pressure put on it by the New York financial supervisory authority, German Commerzbank dismissed 4 German employees, but has now been upbraided by Frankfurt Labor Court for doing so. The US bank authority had demanded repercussions for the bank's lax anti money laundering checks: "The Authority is instructing the bank to take all necessary steps to dismiss the four employees who played a central role in the context of the inappropriate conduct (...), but who continue to...

Read more

Chapter News

EU Fiscal Sustainability Report 2015 is Published

The Fiscal Sustainability Report 2015 provides an overview of the challenges to public finance sustainability faced by Member States in the short, medium and long term. Although public finances in the EU today are more sustainable than they were at the onset of the crisis, significant challenges remain over the medium and long term because of high debt levels and population ageing. FAQ Download PDF: Fiscal Sustainability Report 2015 IN THIS CONTEXT: An early-detection index of fi scal stress for EU countries  

Read more

Chapter News

The EU, a net investor in the rest of the world – Main FDI partner: by far the United States

Foreign Direct Investment stocks at the end of 2014 - The EU, a net investor in the rest of the world - Main FDI partner: by far the United States Brussels, 25 January 2016 -- At the end of 2014, the European Union (EU) held Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stocks of €5 749 billion in the rest of the world (+7.6% compared with the end of 2013), while stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU amounted...

Read more

Member News

FTC Proposes Revisions to Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries

In a Federal Register notice dated January 12, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) is seeking comments on proposed amendments to its Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries (“Jewelry Guides”). Companies are encouraged to submit comments to the FTC before the changes are finalized as these proposed changes may have a significant impact on current marketing practices. Comments are due by April 4, 2016. In July 2012, the FTC initiated a regulatory review of the Jewelry Guides which yielded...

Read more

Chapter News

Results of the Q1 2016 ECB Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF)

SPF inflation expectations have been revised downwards for 2016 from 1.0 to 0.7 percent Real GDP growth expectations are unchanged in the 1.7-1.8% range Unemployment rate forecasts have been revised downward and remain on a downward path Respondents to the ECB’s Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF, Q1 2016) have revised their inflations expectations for 2016 downwards by 0.3 percentage point to 0.7 percent, mainly reflecting oil price developments. Inflation is expected to pick up further in 2017 to 1.4% and in 2018...

Read more

Chapter News

EU to Defy Critics in 2016

As 2016 gets underway, U.S. writers and commentators have been looking into their crystal balls, predicting that this will be year the European Union will buckle under surmounting problems. “Terrorism, Migrants, and Crippling Debt: Is This the End of Europe?” blasts Vanity Fair. The Washington Post hones in on Europe’s crises in 2015 and speculates 2016 will be the year it unravels. Break-up of the European Union is on the table, predicts Fortune. The thinking behind the headlines is clear: a...

Read more