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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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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The Fifth progress report on the Partnership Framework on Migration, presented today by the Commission and the High Representative, shows that measures put in place to better manage migration along the Central Mediterranean Route and with partners in Africa are starting to bear fruits. The number of tragic deaths at sea has significantly decreased over the summer months, alongside a substantial reduction in the number of migrants crossing the Central Mediterranean. Jointly with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the...

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EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström today announced that the EU will launch an international Alliance for Torture-Free Trade. The initiative – a joint effort with Argentina and Mongolia – aims to end the trade in goods used for capital punishment and torture and will be formally launched on 18 September during United Nations General Assembly week in New York. The Alliance for Torture-Free Trade is a global effort by countries from all over the world to stop the trade in goods...

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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) conference, which takes place in Paris on Tuesday 17 October, will be this autumn’s key event focusing on developments in the EU’s financial services markets. Participants will hear from leading figures on issues such as Brexit, CMU, MiFID, market infrastructures, financial innovation and the future shape of financial services regulation. Confirmed keynote speakers include: Steven Maijoor, Chair, European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA); Valdia Dombrovskis, Vice President of the European Commission with responsibility...

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Today, the Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine enters fully into force. The Association Agreement, including its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), is the main tool for bringing Ukraine and the EU closer together: it promotes deeper political ties and stronger economic links, as well as respect for common European values. The DCFTA provides a framework for modernising Ukraine's trade relations and economic development by opening up markets and harmonising laws, standards and regulations with EU...

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The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing inRiver AB, a Swedish developer of cloud computing based product information management software (PIM), with EUR 8 million in financing to boost the company’s competitiveness in a fast growing market. The transaction comes under the European Growth Finance Facility which benefits from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe. Product information management software is a crucial tool to overcome the scale and complexity digital channels create for...

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Speech by Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, at the Economic Policy Symposium of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Jackson Hole, 25 August 2017 The global recovery is firming up. In some countries like the United States, this process has been visible for some years, in others like Europe and Japan, the consolidation of the recovery is at an earlier stage. So it is fitting that our discussions are now focusing not only on how to stabilise the...

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