On September 4, 2015, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation1 with Norway. The Norwegian economy performed well in 2014 despite the sharp fall in oil prices toward the end of the year. Mainland (i.e. non-oil) GDP grew at 2.2 percent, with weaker investment demand being offset by stronger government consumption. Unemployment stayed at a low level in 2014, but has recently edged up to 4.5 percent in June according to the labor...

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“Our European Union is not in a good state. There is not enough Europe in this Union. And there is not enough Union in this Union.” This morning, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered his first State of the Union address before the European Parliament in Strasbourg. President Juncker focused on big challenges such as the refugee crisis, the future of the euro and foreign policy. In the speech, President Juncker outlined his political vision for the future of the...

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Seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.4% in both the euro area (EA19) and the EU28 during the second quarter of 2015, compared with the previous quarter, according to a second estimate published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the first quarter of 2015, GDP grew by 0.5% in both areas. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 1.5% in the euro area and by 1.9% in the EU28 in...

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Thank you for that introduction and those thoughts. I am very glad to be here this evening. First, I want to congratulate Bruegel on a successful decade spent shaping and influencing Europe's economic debate. Not only in Brussels, but in many European capitals. I am personally very happy that my own country, Poland, was one of the founding members of your think-tank. Congratulations once again and keep up the great work. To begin with, I must confess that I have...

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Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement at the conclusion of the Group of 20 (G20) Finance Minister and Central Bank Governor Meeting in Ankara: “The G20 meeting took place at a time of renewed uncertainty for the global economy amidst rising financial market volatility, declining commodity prices, depreciating currencies in some countries, and China’s growth transition. Downside risks to the outlook have increased, particularly for emerging market economies. Against this backdrop,...

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Ladies and gentlemen, Let me start by thanking my esteemed colleague in the Eurogroup and your Minister of Finance Hans Jörg Schelling for his kind invitation to visit beautiful Tyrol. Since February the spotlight has been on Greece. I was not very happy about that. We spent many meetings before reaching an agreement on a new program. Greece is in many respects lagging behind the positive outlook for the Eurozone. Almost all countries are leaving the crisis behind. Eurozone-averages on growth,...

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VAT revenue collection has failed to show significant improvement across EU Member States according to the latest figures released by the European Commission today. VAT revenue collection has failed to show significant improvement across EU Member States according to the latest figures released by the European Commission today. Based on VAT collection figures from 2013, the overall difference between the expected VAT revenue and the amount actually collected (the so-called "VAT Gap") did not improve on 2012. While 15 Member States...

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--  Executive Summary -- The ECB welcomes the opportunity to provide its views on the review of EMIR. While it should be recognised that many EMIR requirements have been in force for only a limited period of time, and that others have not yet entered into force, the ECB believes that certain important conclusions can already be drawn. This response puts forward the ECB’s proposals for a future revision of the Regulation, with the main points in this regard summarised...

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The agriculture committee on Thursday rejected the Commission's draft law that would give member states the power to restrict or prohibit the use of EU-approved GM food or feed on their territory. It fears that arbitrary national bans could distort competition on the EU's single market and jeopardise the Union's food production sectors which are heavily dependent on imports of GM feed. The agriculture committee's opinion, adopted by 28 votes in favour to eight against, with six abstentions, will...

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