By Vladimir Klyuev and James Tebrake The updated System of National Accounts better captures digitalization, intangible assets, and global production—helping governments support growth, jobs, and investment The cornerstones of our digital world—from smartphone apps to new digital assets and artificial intelligence tools—didn’t exist back in 2008, the last time the world’s statistical community overhauled its approach to standardizing how countries measure the economy. Now, an updated System of National Accounts—the global standard for producing measures of economic activity—more fully incorporates emerging technologies, digital...

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By Niccolò Battistini and Johannes Gareis Monetary policy has an impact on our daily lives. This post explores the ripple effects of the ECB’s recent monetary policy on housing affordability, housing sales and households’ home goods consumption. Monetary policy decisions affect the economy by influencing how much people can afford, invest and consume. The housing market is an important channel for this: changes in monetary policy affect mortgage interest rates, which in turn affect housing sales. However, since buying a home...

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Stablecoins are reshaping global finance – with the US dollar at the helm. Without a strategic response, European monetary sovereignty and financial stability could erode. However, in this disruption there is also an opportunity for the euro to emerge stronger. Stablecoins are reshaping global finance – with the US dollar at the helm. Without a strategic response, European monetary sovereignty and financial stability could erode. However, in this disruption there is also an opportunity for the euro to emerge stronger....

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By Othman Bouabdallah, Ettore Dorrucci, Carolin Nerlich, Christiane Nickel and Aurelian Vlad Following the June NATO summit, Europe is confronting heightened challenges in financing its green, digital and defence transitions as new defence commitments place increased pressure on national and EU budgets. Balancing strategic priorities with debt sustainability is crucial. This blog outlines a three-pronged strategy: (i) relying on existing fiscal mechanisms; (ii) additional fiscal measures at the national level; and (iii) fostering a more cohesive and productive Europe. Europe is facing...

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The European Commission is taking action against several EU Member States that have failed to notify the Commission of measures they have adopted to transpose EU Directives into their national laws. The deadline to transpose these Directives has expired recently. The Commission is sending a letter of formal notice to these Member States, giving them two months to reply and complete the transposition of the Directives. If they fail to do so, the Commission may issue a stronger warning,...

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The Commission analysis in this report is based on statistics for 2024 received from Member States in relation to the application of the e-commerce package 1. Introduction Against a backdrop of explosive growth in e-commerce activity and a fragmented regulatory framework for the collection of VAT on e-commerce supplies, the VAT e-commerce package, which came into effect on 1 July 2021, introduced a number of VAT and customs related reforms. These reforms were designed to help navigate the challenges presented by...

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