In the follow blog piece, originally posted on Social Europe, Carlos Vacas-Soriano and Enrique Fernández-Macías look at evolution of household disposable real income levels over the period 2004-2013, and the broader phenomenon on Europe's shrinking middle class. The Great Recession depressed real income levels across European countries. But the impact was very unequal across countries and income groups. Countries in the European periphery have been more affected than those in the core, halting the process of income convergence between European countries...

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The College adopted a proposal which will further reinforce the EU’s tax transparency framework and discussed the preparation of the June European Council. New transparency rules for tax planning intermediaries Recent events such as the Panama Papers revelations have exposed how some intermediaries actively assist companies and individuals to escape taxation, usually through complex cross-border schemes. This is the reason why the European Commission has today proposed tough new transparency rules for intermediaries – such as tax advisors, accountants, banks and lawyers...

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    Compliments of the Atlantic Council's Global Business and Economics Program

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Commission forges ahead on new transparency rules for tax planning intermediaries The European Commission has today proposed tough new transparency rules for intermediaries - such as tax advisors, accountants, banks and lawyers - who design and promote tax planning schemes for their clients. Recent media leaks such as the Panama Papers have exposed how some intermediaries actively assist companies and individuals to escape taxation, usually through complex cross-border schemes. Today's proposal aims to tackle such aggressive tax planning by increasing scrutiny...

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The annual European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) provides a comparative assessment of research and innovation performance and the relative strengths and weaknesses of national research and innovation systems. It covers the EU Member States as well as Iceland, Israel, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine. On a more limited number of globally available indicators, the EIS also rates Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, the Russian Federation, South Africa, South Korea, and the United...

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General comments 577 seats renewed at the National Assembly, the most important chamber of the French Parliament; The second round confirms the solid victory of President Macron’s party, La République En Marche (LREM), although slightly below the latest forecast, with a total of 350 seats obtained by its candidates and those of the ally party Modem, representing more than 60% of the National Assembly. This absolute majority should allow the new President to adopt his forthcoming reforms. The center-right...

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The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas with a total of EUR 250m via two new agreements to finance SMEs and public entities on a local and national level, as well as midcap companies for research and innovation projects.  The contracts include in particular:  financing of EUR 200m that can be used either by SMEs (businesses with fewer than 250 employees) or – for a maximum share of 30% – by publicly-owned companies of any size;  financing of EUR 50m...

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June 8, 2017 -    How can we shape and respond to globalisation? This question has become increasingly important as today, local issues are increasingly global and vice versa. We now see an ongoing vivid and welcome public debate about the effects and causes of globalisation. Today, I am in Paris to take part in the OECD Ministerial Council meeting, which this year carries the headline "Making globalisation work ". The goal of the meeting is to explore policies that can result...

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While millions of young people enter the labor market every year, the chance of landing a traditional full-time job with benefits are getting slim. Global youth unemployment is on the rise and many young people are opting to work in what’s known as the sharing economy. In this podcast, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde shares her thoughts about policies that might help today’s youth better adapt to the changing nature of work. Read Christine Lagarde’s Straight Talk about millennials and the...

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Plans for new compulsory greenhouse gas cuts under the Paris agreement were backed by MEPs on Wednesday, following a debate on the announced U.S. withdrawal. These cuts will help deliver on the EU’s overall target for 2030 on all policies - a 40% cut from 1990 levels. The EU is committed to these cuts in the framework of the Paris Agreement. The legislation will make it possible to break down the EU targets into binding, national ones for sectors not covered...

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