Countries must urgently address policies that are driving the continued expansion of steel excess capacity to prevent further erosion of market stability and fair competition in the steel industry, according to a new OECD report. The OECD Steel Outlook 2025 shows that excess capacity is projected to rise to 721 million metric tonnes (mmt) by 2027, exceeding by around 290 mmt the combined steel production of OECD countries in 2024. This surge is being driven by continued capacity expansion, despite weak growth...

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Today, the European Commission has taken further steps to support the EU's transition to a low-carbon economy. Four new pieces of secondary legislation and a communication relating to the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) will help the EU's industry to become more resilient, competitive and reduce their carbon footprint. These rules clarify which manufacturing projects can benefit from specific provisions in the Act, such as on permitting, strategic project status and on non-price criteria. They will help scale up the manufacturing of net-zero technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and leverage the competitive advantage of the EU's clean tech industry.  The Commission has today adopted the following acts:   Components primarily used for net-zero technologies under the NZIA   The...

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The EU’s single market gives businesses access to 450 million consumers. It is the first driver of our competitiveness and the second largest global market. But its rules and regulations can be complex and create barriers to entry and growth. In a bid to create a more simple and strong European home market, the European Commission has introduced a new strategy to simplify rules and reduce bureaucracy.   The new measures will boost growth opportunities for businesses and provide even higher...

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Today, the European Commission has presented a Single Market Strategy to create a more simple, seamless and strong European home market. The Strategy sets out bold actions to reduce existing barriers holding back intra-EU trade and investments, helps SMEs to operate and scale up their activities, and alleviates businesses by boosting digitalisation. The Strategy calls on Member States to do their part in making the EU market the best choice for companies, workers and consumers. In today's world, marked by economic volatility...

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Policymakers should broaden central clearing and monitor market-making, including by nonbank financial institutions, while dealers must continue to build resilience Blog post by Tobias Adrian, Kleopatra Nikolaou, Jason Wu | The smooth functioning of government bond markets is important for the safety and soundness of broader capital markets, especially amid heightened financial market volatility. Bond markets recently adjusted sharply to an abrupt re-assessment of the global macroeconomic environment and elevated trade policy uncertainty. Government bond market functioning demonstrated resilience despite very high volatility,...

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“Check against delivery” Minister Cuerpo, Commissioner Serafin, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to be here with you today, in the company of so many distinguished thinkers and experts. Jacques Delors famously said that no one falls in love with a Single Market. And at the start of my first mandate, I thought that must also be true of our budget. But in these years, I have learnt that our budget is much more than a set of funds and rules. Because...

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Opening Remarks by Alfred Kammer, IMF European Department Director, for the Annual EU Budget Conference Thank you for the opportunity to join this important discussion today on the EU budget. Europe stands at a transformative crossroads. The global environment is increasingly complex, and structural changes are reshaping the foundations of European economies. The challenges before us are significant: strengthening productivity and resilience amid demographic aging and rising geopolitical and trade tensions while increasing defense spending in a fiscally sustainable way, and...

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Prepared by Maurizio Michael Habib, Oscar Schwartz Blicke, Emilio Siciliano and Jonas Wendelborn Gold prices have seen an unprecedented surge since 2023, reaching a series of all-time highs. Gold has a long history as a store of value. Given its limited industrial use, demand for gold comes traditionally from retail customers (e.g. for jewellery), although it is also employed as an investment asset and used by central banks as a reserve asset. From an investment perspective, gold differs from other asset classes....

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The EU economy began 2025 on a somewhat stronger footing than anticipated. It is projected to keep growing at a modest rate this year, with growth expected to pick up in 2026, despite heightened global policy uncertainty and trade tensions.  The Commission's Spring 2025 Economic Forecast projects real GDP to grow by 1.1% in 2025 in the EU and 0.9% in the euro area, broadly the same pace as recorded in 2024. In 2026, growth is expected to accelerate to...

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I. Introduction 1. In view of the United Kingdom - European Union summit of 19 May 2025, the European Commission and the United Kingdom explored areas with the potential to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the European Union and the United Kingdom (1). This Common Understanding between the European Commission and the United Kingdom sets out the conclusions of those exploratory talks. We will proceed swiftly on the undertakings set out in this document, in accordance with our respective procedures and...

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