Today the European Commission is presenting the first in a series of monthly reports on progress made towards an effective and sustainable Security Union. The report outlines the Commission's efforts in the fight against terrorism, organised crime and cybercrime and the work undertaken to strengthen the EU's resilience against these threats. It also highlights the priority areas where more work is needed and sets out concrete operational measures for the months to come. Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris...

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Fraud, fragmentation and the complexity of the VAT system are a major challenge especially for border regions and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Therefore the members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) broadly support the European Commission's move to modernise VAT in the EU through an opinion prepared by Dainis Turlais (LV/ALDE) and adopted during the October plenary. The action plan on VAT was published by the European Commission in April 2016 and is the first step towards a...

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Scientific support in Europe's regions and cities will finally come to fruition thanks to the new Knowledge Centre for Territorial Policies, said Markku Markkula, President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), at the Annual Conference of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre on 11 October. He warmly welcomed the initiative, which provides scientific support to EU regions and cities, based on their specific needs, diversity and growth potential. Opening the Annual Conference of the Joint Research Centre (JRC),...

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Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for inviting me here today and for giving me the opportunity to be part of such a distinguished panel. The subject matter of our panel is a demanding one. Nine years after the beginning of the crisis, advanced economies are apparently settled in a regime of low growth and low inflation with no end in sight. In many places, a weary complacency seems to be reconciled with the “new normal long-term economic equilibrium”. However, in our...

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Commission welcomes landmark international agreement to curb aviation emissions The European Commission welcomes the landmark agreement reached yesterday by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), with the adoption of a Global Market-Based Measure (GMBM) to reduce international aviation emissions. The European Union and its Member States played an instrumental role in brokering this deal, which constitutes the first-ever agreement to reduce CO2 emissions in a global sector. Days after the ratification of the Paris Agreement by the EU, this new multilateral deal...

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"Ten months ago, in Paris, I said before the world that we needed a strong global agreement to reduce carbon pollution and to set the world on a low-carbon course. The result was the Paris Agreement. Last month, the United States and China -- the world’s two largest economies and largest emitters -- formally joined that agreement together. And today, the world has officially crossed the threshold for the Paris Agreement to take effect. "Today, the world meets the moment....

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Following Brexit, it is even more important that the European Union focus on further integration. It can do this by completing the Digital Single Market and the Capital Markets Union, concluding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), pursuing a larger European budget, and introducing Eurobonds. Although it is highly uncertain which direction a European Union without the United Kingdom will take, we will lay out two possible scenarios. The first scenario will leverage European citizens’ fears that free movement...

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Action to stop massacres in Syria, implement migration policies and border controls, and ensure a balanced approach to trade deals while defending EU industry are the key challenges that EU heads of state or government should tackle at their 20-21 October meeting in Brussels, said Parliament’s political group leaders in a debate with the Slovak Council Presidency and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday. Click on the speakers’ names to view their statements Ivan Korčok, Slovak Secretary of State, outlined...

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During the global financial crisis and subsequent euro-debt crisis, the fiscal resources of some countries appeared to be insufficient to support their banking systems. These countries needed outside support to stabilise their banking systems and thereby their wider economies. This Policy Contribution assesses the potential fiscal costs of recapitalising large banks. Based on past financial crises, we estimate that the cost to recapitalise an individual bank amounts to 4.5 percent of its total assets. During a severe crisis, a country...

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The European Parliament will vote on Tuesday to give its consent to the ratification of the Paris climate agreement by the European Union, after Council gave its green light on Friday. For Environment Committee chair Giovanni La Via (EPP, IT) the decision allows the EU to remain a leader in climate action ahead of the next round of talks to take place in Marrakech in November. “I welcome the decision by environment ministers to allow for a timely EU ratification....

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