The General Affairs Council meeting of 23 July celebrated Lithuania's entry into the euro area. Ministers also discussed the Italian presidency work programme and the mid-term review of the Europe 2020 strategy. On 1 January 2015, Lithuania will become the 19th member state to adopt the euro. "Lithuania's consistent efforts have paid off: today the eurozone has opened the door for us," said Algirdas Butkevičius, Prime Minister of Lithuania, at the meeting of EU ministers. The entry of Lithuania into the euro...

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The latest Standard Eurobarometer survey results are published - the first EU-wide opinion poll conducted since the European Parliament elections in May which were organised under the slogan "This time it's different". The latest Eurobarometer survey shows that this time it was different with positive developments in several areas. 1. A 10 year record high in the number of citizens who feel their voice counts After the European Elections, the number of citizens who feel their voice counts in the EU...

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New opportunities for European businesses, affordable energy bills for consumers, increased energy security through a significant reduction of natural gas imports and a positive impact on the environment: these are some of the expected benefits of the energy efficiency target for 2030 put forward today by the European Commission in a Communication. The proposed target of 30 % builds on the achievements already reached: new buildings use half the energy they did in the 1980s and industry is about...

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At their June meeting, EU leaders adopted the decision proposing to the European Parliament Jean-Claude Juncker as candidate for President of the European Commission. The Parliament elected the proposed candidate on 15 July. Leaders also asked Herman Van Rompuy to conduct consultations on the nominations for the other top positions. During the course of 2014 there will not only be a new College of Commissioners, but also a new President of the European Council, and a new High Representative of...

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Member States must step up their work to prevent, detect and report fraud affecting EU funds, according to the Commission's annual report on the protection of financial interests (PIF report). The report sets out detailed recommendations on areas that national authorities should particularly focus on in this respect. The report finds that detected fraud in EU spending accounts for less than 0.2% of all funds. Nevertheless, the Commission believes that greater efforts at national level both on combatting and detecting...

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By Evelyn Robert de Rothschild, Financier In 2008 the world suffered its most severe financial crisis since the calamities of the 1930s. Since then debate has raged over just what went wrong. Some blame greedy bankers, anxious to profit at any cost. Others blame banks' foolhardy approach, tolerating senselessly high levels of borrowing and marketing financial products too complex to understand. Still others fault regulators for being asleep at the wheel, while still others point the finger at an intemperate...

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