In 2025, the European Union Intellectual Property Office received 327 735 new applications for EU trade marks and EU designs. It is the highest annual number of intellectual property (IP) applications since the Office began accepting filings in 1996. Overall, it represents a 7.8% increase compared to 2024, surpassing the previous record set in 2021 (313 928 applications received) Trade Marks Drive Overall Growth European Union trade marks (EUTMs) accounted for the largest share of applications in 2025. The EUIPO received 196...

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The Council has adopted today an amendment to the regulation governing the activities of the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), extending its objectives to facilitate the creation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) gigafactories in Europe and to include a dedicated quantum technologies pillar. The amended regulation allows for the development and operation of AI gigafactories in Europe, a world-class AI compute infrastructure that will strengthen Europe’s industry and competitiveness, while fostering cooperation through public-private partnerships that include member states...

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WASHINGTON, January 13, 2026 Yet one in four developing economies remains poorer than it was in 2019 The global economy is proving more resilient than anticipated despite persistent trade tensions and policy uncertainty, according to the World Bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects report.  Global growth is projected to remain broadly steady over the next two years, easing to 2.6% in 2026 before rising to 2.7% in 2027, an upward revision from the June forecast. The resilience reflects better-than-expected growth—especially in the United States, which accounts for about two-thirds of the upward revision to the forecast in 2026. Even so, if these forecasts hold, the 2020s are on track to be...

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Speech by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, at the 16th edition of Spain Investors Day Madrid, 14 January 2026 The global economy is facing a period of profound transformation and heightened uncertainty. The past year has brought major shifts in the international economic environment, driven by significant changes in US policy and the erosion of the multilateral, rules-based system which has long supported global trade and international relations. The introduction of substantial tariffs on US imports has disrupted trade...

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Keynote Speech by Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Danish Economic Society Conference Kolding, 9 January 2026 I am grateful to the Danish Economic Society for the invitation to participate in this conference. In line with the overall theme of the event, I will speak today about the implications of a changing world for the euro-denominated monetary system. In our 2025 assessment exercise that reviewed the monetary policy strategy of the ECB, the Governing Council...

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1 January 2026 Euro banknotes and coins start circulating in Bulgaria Bulgarian National Bank joins Eurosystem Bulgaria becomes 21st euro area member Bulgarian National Bank now also full member of Single Supervisory Mechanism following period of close cooperation The euro officially entered into circulation in Bulgaria today, bringing the number of European Union (EU) Member States using the single European currency to 21. This follows on from the formal decision made in July, which also announced the official conversion rate of 1.95583...

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The European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Central Bank (ECB), national central banks and national supervisory authorities across the European Economic Area have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation and information sharing in support of non-bank payment service providers’ (PSPs) access to central bank-operated payment systems. This multilateral agreement sets out clear principles for collaboration and harmonises the processes and procedures for the exchange of information between national supervisory authorities and national central banks in relation to non-bank PSPs’ participation in payment systems operated by central...

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