“Check against delivery” President Metsola, Honourable Members,   Europe is in a fight. A fight for a continent that is whole and at peace. For a free and independent Europe. A fight for our values and our democracies. A fight for our liberty and our ability to determine our destiny for ourselves. Make no mistake – this is a fight for our future. I thought long and hard about whether to start this State of the Union address with such a stark appraisal. After all,...

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Rising health expenditures and population ageing prompted many governments to increase social security contribution rates in 2024, reflecting a broader trend towards increasing revenues to strengthen the long-term sustainability of social protection systems, according to a new OECD report. The tenth annual edition of Tax Policy Reforms: OECD and Selected Partner Economies provides a comprehensive overview of tax reform trends, offering cross-country comparisons and tracking policy developments over time. This 2025 edition describes tax reforms implemented in 2024 across 86 jurisdictions, including all OECD...

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The European Commission's 2025 Strategic Foresight Report presents ‘Resilience 2.0', a forward-looking and proactive approach to ensuring the EU thrives in turbulent times, anticipates new challenges and creates a safe space for citizens and business. The report recognises various megatrends: climate and environmental transitions are accelerating, security concerns are rising, and global competition is reshaping economies and societies. At the same time, Europe faces questions on its strategic autonomy, competitiveness, social cohesion and the protection of democracy and fundamental values. The scale and...

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Educational attainment is at an all-time high, with around half (48%) of young adults in OECD countries now completing tertiary education, up from just 27% in 2000. These graduates tend to enjoy higher earnings, more stable employment and better health, according to a new OECD report. Education at a Glance 2025 provides comparable national statistics measuring the state of education worldwide. It shows that, despite overall growth in tertiary attainment, family background continues to strongly influence who pursues higher education. Just...

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NEW YORK—The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data today released the August 2025 Survey of Consumer Expectations, which shows that households’ inflation expectations ticked up at the short-term horizon and remained unchanged at the medium- and longer-term horizons. Unemployment and job loss expectations worsened. Job finding expectations declined to a series low. Spending and household income growth expectations remained broadly unchanged. The survey was fielded from August 1 through August 31, 2025. The main findings from...

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Last year, almost 200 million Europeans cast their ballots to elect their representatives in the European Parliament. It was the moment of Europe’s choice. Turnout was the highest it had been in 20 years. This is proof that Europeans care about our Union and expect it to deliver on the challenges ahead. And this is the mission that the new Commission has taken on  – to deliver on our citizens’ expectations and aspirations.  The world around us is more conflictual and competitive than it has...

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By Gita Bhatt,  Head of Policy Communications, IMF Policymakers will need to achieve a difficult balance between benefits and risks while safeguarding both individual consumers and financial stability Three years ago, Finance & Development devoted a full issue to anticipating “The Money Revolution,” driven by innovations in finance, such as crypto assets. That revolution is now unfolding. This issue of F&D looks at the new frontiers of finance, where technology, data, and changing societal values are reshaping how people and institutions move money and trade financial assets,...

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Introductory statement by Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament Brussels, 4 September 2025 It’s my pleasure to be back for our regular update on the digital euro. This is the ECB’s fourteenth exchange of views on the digital euro with this Committee. I have personally had the honour of addressing you five times. Our previous discussions covered a wide range of issues, including the preservation of...

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The European Commission has put forward its proposals to the Council for the signature and conclusion of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (EMPA) and the EU-Mexico Modernised Global Agreement (MGA). These landmark deals form a critical part of the EU's strategy to diversify its trade relations and strengthen economic and political ties with like-minded partners around the world. These partnerships will create billions of euro's worth of export opportunities for EU companies of all sizes, contribute to economic growth and competitiveness,...

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Today, the Commission has adopted a second package of seven sectoral proposals completing the framework for the next long-term EU budget for 2028–2034. These legal acts complete the MFF 2028-2034 proposal, and cover the following areas: • The Single Market and Customs Programme; •  The Justice Programme; •  The Euratom Research and Training Programme; •  The Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation and Decommissioning; •  The Nuclear decommissioning assistance programme of the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania (Ignalina programme); •  The Decision on the Overseas...

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