The Commission welcomes the swift political agreement reached today between the European Parliament and EU Member States on the proposal on the Digital Services Act (DSA), proposed by the Commission in December 2020. The DSA sets out an unprecedented new standard for the accountability of online platforms regarding illegal and harmful content. It will provide better protection for internet users and their fundamental rights, as well as define a single set of rules in the internal market, helping smaller...

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1 Introduction The recent increase in energy prices raises the question of the extent to which households will reduce their consumption in response. With the global economy in the process of recovering from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the prices of many commodities – including oil and gas – have soared over the last year or so. Since demand for energy is inelastic in the short run, those large price increases imply significant declines in households’ purchasing power, which will need...

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Keynote speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the Peterson Institute for International Economics | Washington, D.C., 22 April 2022 | It is a pleasure to be in Washington to speak with you today. The economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may mark a defining moment for globalisation in the 21st century. Russia’s unprovoked aggression has triggered a fundamental reassessment of economic relations and dependencies in our globalised economy. And in a post-invasion world, it has become increasingly untenable...

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The European Commission takes note of the decision by Kingspan and European Architectural Systems (i.e. the parent company of Trimo) to terminate their proposed agreement according to which Kingspan intended to acquire sole control over Trimo. This marks the end of the Commission's investigation into this transaction. Kingspan, based in Ireland, is a manufacturer of insulating panels, including mineral fibre sandwich panels, and other building materials and solutions. Trimo, based in Slovenia, is active mainly in the manufacture of...

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Thank you Adam for this introduction. It is a pleasure to be in D.C. and to be at the Peterson Institute for the first time in person, even if unfortunately the audience is still virtual. It is right to remain prudent – and to remind ourselves that the pandemic is not yet over. One step at a time! It is now almost two months since Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. Two months of indiscriminate killings, bombings of civilian...

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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has decided to postpone the publication of sizes large in scale compared to the standard market size (LIS) and the size specific to the instrument (SSTI) as well as the May quarterly bonds liquidity assessment. The amended regulatory technical standards (RTS 2) and the move to stage 3, will enter into force on 3 May 2022. ESMA, to ensure that the transparency calculations at the application date set...

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'Spending imperatives from pandemic and war meet high debt and tight budget constraints.' Just as increasing vaccinations offered hope, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted the global economic recovery. One of the most visible global effects has been the acceleration of energy and food prices, triggering concerns about episodes of food shortages and increasing the risks of malnutrition and social unrest. World food prices surged by 33.6 percent in March from a year earlier, according to the Food and Agriculture...

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'A record rise in private debt could slow the economic recovery, but the drag on growth will vary across countries and within them.' Governments succeeded in lessening the economic pain of the pandemic by providing plenty of liquidity to stricken consumers and businesses through credit guarantees, concessional lending and moratoriums on interest payments. But although these policies proved effective in supporting balance sheets, they also led to a spike in private debt, extending a steady increase in leverage spurred by supportive...

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Cooperation across countries can raise revenue, tackle inequality, and fight climate change. Technology, globalization, and global warming have changed the world, and taxation must keep pace. With a mouse click, individuals can move money across borders and corporations can transact with their affiliates across global supply chains. Production depends on intangible know-how assets that can be located anywhere. Employers and their employees can work in different countries. As income and factors of production become more mobile, and with climate...

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Today, the Commission has proposed a first-ever framework to protect the intellectual property for craft and industrial products that rely on the originality and authenticity of traditional practices from their regions. This framework will cover products such as Murano glass, Donegal tweed, Porcelaine de Limoges, Solingen cutlery and Boleslawiec pottery. While these products benefit from a European and sometimes global reputation and standing, producers have so far lacked an EU indication protection linking their products' origin and reputation to...

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