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Introductory remarks by Michel Barnier at the press conference following the General Affairs Council (Article 50)

Ladies and gentlemen, First of all, a word of thanks to the Estonian Presidency and to Matti Maasikas, and to the whole team in the Embassy, and to all the Ministers doing a tremendous job – in particular in my area – in a spirit of trust and reciprocity that I would like to commend. In her speech in Florence, Theresa May expressed a constructive spirit, which is also ours, as the Ministers unanimously confirmed today in the Council. What matters now...

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Post UNGA, prepping for the European Council: What to expect from October’s Meeting

For now, we have some key details on the agenda of October's upcoming Council meeting in Brussels. The agenda is full - and the Council has released a few details, shown below: Place:           Europa building, Brussels Chair:           Matti Maasikas, Deputy Minister for European Affairs of Estonia  All times are approximate and subject to change from 08.30    Arrivals (live streaming)  +/- 08.55       Doorstep by Deputy Minister Matti Maasikas  +/- 10.00       Beginning of Council meeting (Roundtable) Adoption of legislative A items (public session) Presentation of the priorities...

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The Elusive European Consumer: An Open Letter to an American Cousin

By Maurice Marchand-Tonel | Chairman | EACC Paris If you already do business in Europe and successfully so, do skip this vignette. If you are in a B to B space, just skim through this. If, however, you are in a B to C business with a goal of conquering Europe with your unique products that your US consumers love so much, let’s just throw in a couple basic remarks. IF you are in a B to C business with a...

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Understanding and Overcoming Low Inflation

Remarks by Vítor Constâncio, Vice-President of the ECB: Ladies and gentleman, As this successful conference draws to an end, I wish to extend a warm thank you to all participants, for collaborating with this ECB research initiative, which has been very fruitful. In my concluding remarks, I will discuss a few issues raised during the conference. Understanding inflation dynamics is especially important today due to the surprisingly low inflation levels prevailing in many countries. Moreover, there is evidence suggesting that in some...

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Taxation: Commission sets out path towards fair taxation of the Digital Economy

  The European Commission is today launching a new EU agenda to ensure that the digital economy is taxed in a fair and growth-friendly way. The Communication adopted by the Commission sets out the challenges Member States currently face when it comes to acting on this pressing issue and outlines possible solutions to be explored. The aim is to ensure a coherent EU approach to taxing the digital economy that supports the Commission's key priorities of completing the Digital Single Market and ensuring...

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Creating a stronger and more integrated European financial supervision for the Capital Markets Union

European consumers, investors and businesses will benefit from stronger and more integrated financial markets, thanks to plans by the Commission to reform the EU's supervisory architecture. The European Commission is today proposing reforms to pave the way for further financial integration and a full Capital Markets Union, to promote jobs, growth and investments in Europe and to strengthen the Economic and Monetary Union. President Juncker underlined the importance of the Capital Markets Union, one of the Commission's flagship projects, in his State...

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UN Assembly President aims to achieve ‘results for people’

Miroslav Lajčák hopes that under his presidency the United Nations General Assembly will overcome narrow national interests and produce tangible benefits for people. “My hope is that the 72nd session of the General Assembly will be a good one, a productive one that will result in many concrete solutions to the world’s problems,” Mr. Lajčák told UN News ahead of the session’s opening today. The career diplomat from Slovakia, who was elected by the 193-member Assembly as its President, highlighted two of the...

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Reinvigorating Multilateralism: EU attends 72nd United Nations General Assembly Ministerial week

A high-level delegation of the European Union will attend the ministerial week of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly, starting on 18 September in New York. The EU representatives will participate in a large number of events at the United Nations and meet with world leaders, reflecting the European Union's engagement as a force for positive change, in support of multilateralism and a rules-based global order. The level and breadth of the EU's participation illustrates the strong cooperation between the...

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European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s State of the Union Address 2017

The State of the Union 2017: Catching the wind in our sails European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker today delivered his 2017 State of the Union Address, before the Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, presenting his priorities for the year ahead and outlining his vision for how the European Union could evolve by 2025 (see full speech). He presented a Roadmap for a More United, Stronger and More Democratic Union (see Roadmap Factsheet). European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said today: "The wind is back...

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ECB’s Monetary policy decisions

At today’s (September 7, 2017) meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.40% respectively. The Governing Council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of the net asset purchases. Regarding non-standard monetary policy measures,...

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