Today, the European Commission put forward a proposal to drive forward the EU accession process, by making it more credible, with a stronger political steer, more dynamic and predictable. Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, commented: “The European Union enlargement to the Western Balkans is a top priority for the Commission. We are working on three tracks: Firstly, today we propose concrete steps on how to enhance the accession process. While we are strengthening and improving the process, the goal remains accession...

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Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP), will travel to the United States on 6 and 7 February. This will be the first visit of Josep Borrell to the United States in his capacity as HR/VP. During his stay in Washington DC, he will meet with United States Secretary of State, Michael R. Pompeo, with the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, with National...

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The European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) has published today an amended version of its guidelines on enforcement of financial information. The Guidelines apply to national competent authorities’ (NCAs) enforcement of financial information which issuers, listed on regulated markets, are required to publish under the Transparency Directive. Following a 2017 peer review on the implementation of certain aspects of the Guidelines, ESMA decided to amend the Guidelines in order to further harmonise the way NCAs enforce the financial disclosures of European issuers. The...

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Today, the United Kingdom leaves the European Union and becomes a third country. While we regret the decision of the United Kingdom to leave our Union, we fully respect this choice and are ready to move forward. The diplomatic representation of the European Union from now on will be ensured by an EU Delegation, under my authority as High Representative of the Union for Foreign affairs and Security Policy. I have appointed Ambassador João Vale de Almeida as Head of Delegation...

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The European Commission is partnering with the European Investment Fund, part of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB), to launch the BlueInvest Fund today. During the BlueInvest Day conference in Brussels, EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro and Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, launched a €75 million equity investment fund for the blue economy. The BlueInvest Fund will be managed by the European Investment Fund and will provide financing to underlying equity funds that strategically target and support the innovative blue...

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New EU rules on short-stay visas apply worldwide from 2 February 2020. They make it easier for legitimate travellers to apply for a visa to come to Europe, facilitating tourism, trade and business, while providing more resources for countering irregular migration risks and threats to internal security. Which non-EU countries do the new rules apply to? The changes apply to travellers from all countries which need visas to travel to the EU. Currently, citizens from 105 non-EU countries or entities are...

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The European Commission has today issued a recommendation to the Council to open negotiations on a new partnership with the United Kingdom. This recommendation is based on the existing European Council guidelines and conclusions, as well as on the Political Declaration agreed between the EU and the United Kingdom in October 2019. It includes a comprehensive proposal for negotiating directives, defining the scope and terms of the future partnership that the European Union envisages with the United Kingdom. These directives cover...

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In June 2016, the ECB launched its corporate sector purchase programme, through which it purchased corporate bonds in an effort to improve the financing conditions of euro area firms. In this article, I argue that the programme was successful. In particular, by increasing prices and reducing yields in the targeted bond market segment, the programme encouraged investors to shift their investments towards similar but somewhat riskier bonds. This reduced borrowing costs for many firms, including those whose bonds were...

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