Julian King is poised to become the U.K.’s last European Union commissioner, in charge of implementing the bloc’s security polices, after a key committee of EU lawmakers approved his nomination on Tuesday. Mr. King’s performance during a three-hour hearing on Monday evening in the European Parliament’s civil liberties committee was convincing enough for the committee to endorse his nomination, said Claude Moraes, the committee chair. “We think he should be appointed as the next commissioner for the security union,” Mr. Moraes...

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Today, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström met with US Trade Representative Michael Froman in Brussels to take stock of the ongoing negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). After the meeting, Malmström and Froman made the following statement: "We had a good meeting where we reviewed the substantial progress being made and discussed next steps for moving forward. We have directed our teams to make as much progress as possible during the next round, scheduled for the week of...

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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today underscored the crucial role businesses play in the realization of Global Goals, or Sustainable Development Goals, adopted a year ago by 193 countries. “Solutions will involve everything from regulation to disruptive innovation – and everyone from world leaders and chief executives, to educators, activists and citizens,” Mr. Ban told the UN Private Sector Forum, which was held on the margins of the high-level segment of the General Assembly’s 71st session, which kicked off today. The...

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Speech by High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini at the Roundtable 5 on Global compact for safe, regular and orderly migration - towards realizing the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and achieving full respect for the human rights of migrants at the UN Migration Summit Check against delivery! There is one word that we have abused, in Europe, when talking about migration and refugees: the word is “crisis”. Yes, it is true that we have faced the greatest flow of refugees since World...

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Lighting, heating, moving, producing: energy is essential for our day-to-day life. Turning on our computers or starting our cars are actions that we take for granted, yet they represent the final stage of a complex process, from extraction to final consumption. For example crude oil is transformed into motor gasoline, while fossil, nuclear and renewable energy are transformed into electricity. Full text available on EUROSTAT website Compliments of the European Commission

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Over the course of its existence, the European Parliament has transformed itself from an assembly with limited powers to a decision-making body directly shaping EU policies. It has been a long road, but one of the milestones was 20 September 1976, when ministers signed rules allowing direct European elections. The elections, held about three years later, gave new democratic legitimacy to the Parliament and allowed MEPs to seek more powers in shaping European policies. The act concerning the election of...

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Margarete Vestager European Commissioner for Competition visiting Washington It’s a great pleasure to be here in the US. When I come to Washington, I feel like I’m on familiar ground. Because one of the nice things about being the European Commissioner for Competition is that you get the chance to work with a lot of very smart and dedicated people here in the US. I get to learn about different perspectives and approaches and that the US jurisdiction is not always...

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The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a EUR 100 million loan to Bonnier AB of Sweden, a family-owned media and publishing company founded in 1804. The transaction will support the company’s RDI efforts until 2018. The operation is backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) under the Investment Plan for Europe. The transaction will support research, development and innovation (RDI) investments for the development of new content as well as content delivery platforms. Thus, it will support...

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The EU 27 Heads of State or Government agreed the Bratislava Declaration and Road Map, which sets out clear priorities for action over the next 12 months. European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, took part in the informal meeting of the EU 27 Heads of State or Government. The meeting agreed a Declaration and Road Map, which set out clear priorities for action over the next 12 months. Speaking alongside Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, and European Council President, Donald Tusk, following...

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On 23 June, the United Kingdom (UK) voted to leave the European Union (EU). In order to do this, it must invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which will allow the UK to start the formal and legal process of leaving the EU. Article 50 places a two year time limit on the leave negotiations, unless the European Council and the member states unanimously decide to extend this period. The exact process of leaving the EU is uncertain...

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