Speech by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, 1 May 2019 Introduction Sustained economic expansion over the past six years and greater banking sector resilience have supported financial stability within the euro area. But the recent softening of growth prospects heightens risks. The financial stability environment has become more challenging than it was a year ago. The risks that have been with us for some time now – a possible disorderly increase in risk premia, debt sustainability concerns, low bank profitability...

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What was the European Parliament like during its 2014-2019 term? Find out some interesting facts ahead of the European elections on 23-26 May that will shape the next Parliament. Less than half of the MEPs that arrived in July 2014 were new to the Parliament. Some 51.5% had served as MEPs previously. Greece had the largest proportion of new MEPs at 90.5%. The share of women MEPs was 36.9% at the start of the term, decreasing slightly to 36.5% at end...

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A new round of tariffs between the United States and its main partners would only cause a “modest decrease” in the pace of economic growth in the euro zone, according to research by the European Central Bank. The study simulated a two-way, 10 percent increase in tariff and other trade barriers between the world’s largest economy and all its partners. It showed an “overall modest decrease in activity” in the euro area due to fading global confidence outweighing a boost to...

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The world’s largest economies, particularly the EU, China, the US, Mexico and Canada, are all projected to suffer economically from the re-emergence of economic protectionism, and a significant increase in trade tariffs. In the case of the EU, the bloc would experience a 1% contraction in GDP, a 0.3% lower rate of employment, and a 1.1% decrease in imports by 2030, compared to a ‘no new tariffs’ baseline scenario. This analysis is based on a global macro-economic model run by...

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Strasbourg, 17 April 2019 Today, the European Parliament approved the new Regulation on platform-to-business trading practices that is aimed at establishing a fair, trusted and innovation-driven environment for businesses and traders when using online platforms. Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, Andrus Ansip, Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elżbieta Bieńkowska, and Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel, welcomed the outcome of the vote in a joint statement: “We are delighted by the overwhelming support to the new...

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