Today, the Commission is adopting the first EU Strategy on voluntary return and reintegration. The Strategy promotes voluntary return and reintegration as an integral part of a common EU system for returns, a key objective under the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. It sets out practical measures to strengthen the legal and operational framework for voluntary returns from Europe and from transit countries, improve the quality of return and reintegration programmes, establish better links with development initiatives and strengthen cooperation...

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In his speech at the Leaders' Summit on Climate hosted by US President Joe Biden on 22 April, European Council President Charles Michel highlighted the EU's leadership in fighting climate change and its binding target of 55% emissions reduction by 2030. He also stressed the need for a global approach to carbon pricing and urged all developed countries to scale up their contributions to climate finance. A global approach to carbon pricing is paramount to promoting green investment. If we...

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EACC New York is inviting European countries, member states and non-member states, to share some fun facts about their country with the EACC network to showcase their home country’s cultural beauty, economic strengths, and their role in transatlantic trade & investment. In conjunction with Portugal's Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we present a profile of the country of PORTUGAL. A quick fun fact about your country: According to The Global Peace Index, Portugal is the 3rd safest country in...

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Speech by Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the European Statistical Forum (virtual) | Economic and financial statistics play a central role in guiding monetary policy decisions: central banks constitute an important user group for the output of statistical agencies, while also helping to collect the data underpinning many macro-financial statistical series. Events such as the European Statistical Forum provide a welcome opportunity to bring together the producers and users of statistics. In my remarks...

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Welcome address by Fabio Panetta, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the joint BIS, BoE, ECB and IMF conference on “Spillovers in a “post-pandemic, low-for-long” world” | Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak at this conference on spillovers in a “post-pandemic, low-for-long” world. Over the last decade, globalisation has called into question central banks’ ability to achieve domestic objectives. According to some, close economic and financial ties across borders make inflation more of a global...

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Speech on 20 April 2021 in Brussels by President von der Leyen | "Check against delivery" Prime Minister Draghi, dear Mario, Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you very much for joining us from all the different places! We are in this together! And we have to work together – because, as we all know, no one is safe until everyone is safe. We have to join forces to fight this pandemic from every angle and to recover sustainably. This is true for health authorities and all levels...

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As Prepared for Delivery on April 22, 2021 by Kristalina Georgieva | Mr. President, Special Envoy Kerry, Secretary Yellen, At the IMF we look at climate change as central in our work on macroeconomic and financial stability, growth and employment.  It presents huge risks to the functioning of our economies and offers incredible opportunities for transformative investments and green jobs. Let me focus on three areas where the right policies can make a significant difference in accelerating the transition to the new climate economy. First, a robust price...

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The rise in long-term US interest rates has become a focus of global macro-financial concerns. The nominal yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury has increased about 70 basis points since the beginning of the year. This reflects in part an improving US economic outlook amid strong fiscal support and the accelerating recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. So an increase would be expected. But other factors like investors’ concerns about the fiscal position and uncertainty about the economic and policy outlook may...

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Introductory remarks by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, Frankfurt am Main, 22 April 2021 | Ladies and gentlemen, the Vice-President and I are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference. We will now report on the outcome of the meeting of the Governing Council. While the recovery in global demand and the sizeable fiscal stimulus are supporting global and euro area activity, the near-term economic outlook remains clouded by uncertainty about the resurgence of the pandemic and the...

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Index: New regulatory framework on AI Coordinated Plan – 2021 Update New Machinery Regulation Next steps 1. A new regulatory framework on AI Why do we need to regulate the use of Artificial Intelligence technology? The potential benefits of AI for our societies are manifold from improved medical care to better education. Faced with the rapid technological development of AI, the EU must act as one to harness these opportunities. While most AI systems will pose low to no risk, certain AI...

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