Chapter News

Chapter News

Europe is preparing for digitisation and automation of work

Bratislava (15 July 2016) - The informal two-day meeting of EU Member States’ ministers for employment and social policy (EPSCO) led by Slovak minister Ján Richter focused on social and technological challenges in the world of labour – demographic changes, migration and digitisation. Social partners at European level were also present. The population of the European Union is ageing, which means the number of economically active citizens is declining in proportion to the economically inactive. This will impact the labour...

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Chapter News

Energy: EU invests €263 million in energy infrastructure

Today EU Member States agreed on a Commission proposal to invest €263 million in key trans-European energy infrastructure projects. Today EU Member States agreed on the European Commission's proposal to invest €263 million in key European energy infrastructure projects. The lion's share of the investment will support the building of gas infrastructure in the Baltic Sea region as well as supporting the electricity sector across Europe. Nine projects were selected following a call for proposals under the EU funding support programme...

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Chapter News, Trade & TTIP Related

Commission publishes further TTIP documents in ongoing transparency commitment

The European Commission is today publishing a record number of EU proposals from the ongoing 14th round of talks for a trade agreement with the United States, taking place in Brussels this week. As part of its drive for a more transparent trade and investment policy, the Commission is making these proposals public only days after submitting them to our negotiating partners. The nine proposals published today are intended to simplify technical regulations without lowering standards, and to set global rules...

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Chapter News

Innovation performance compared: How innovative is your country?

Today the Commission released the 2016 results of the European Innovation Scoreboard, the Regional Innovation Scoreboard and the Innobarometer. The main findings are that EU innovation is catching up with Japan and the US, Sweden is once again the innovation leader, and Latvia has become the fastest growing innovator. European Innovation Scoreboard 2016 country ranking* (axis Y - Summary Innovation Index, axis X - EU countries) Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, said: "I want Europe to be...

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Chapter News

Capital Markets Union: new rules to support investment in venture capital and social enterprises

The European Commission has today proposed amendments to the European Venture Capital Funds (EuVECA) and the European Social Entrepreneurship Funds (EuSEF) regulations, marking another step towards the creation of the Capital Markets Union. Today's proposal aims to boost investment into venture capital and social projects and make it easier for investors to invest in small and medium-sized innovative companies. In particular, the Commission is proposing to open up the EuVECA and EuSEF fund labels to fund managers of all sizes,...

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Chapter News

Investment Plan for Europe: EUR 100 million for Greek companies as EIF and the National Bank of Greece sign EFSI agreement

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and the National Bank of Greece S.A. (NBG) have signed the first COSME guarantee agreement in Greece, benefiting from the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe. The EU support will allow NBG to provide EUR 100 million to over 350 small businesses in Greece. EIF will provide NBG with a direct guarantee under the COSME programme with financial backing from the European Commission allowing...

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Chapter News, Trade & TTIP Related

US Ambassador to the EU Pledges Concluding TTIP This Year

"If we are going to succeed in completing TTIP this year, we need political will on both sides to maintain our current intensified engagement and bring a pragmatic, problem-solving approach to resolving the remaining issues."   In his remarks to Amcham Dublin, US Ambassador to the European Union Anthony L. Gardner stated that productive TTIP negotiating rounds and intersessional meetings have generated proposed text in the vast majority of the negotiating areas. He laid out the "admittedly ambitious" goal of reaching...

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Chapter News

Commissioner Jonathan Hill at the European Parliament on the Capital Markets Union

Brussels, 13 July 2016 -- Thank you so much for giving me the chance to say a few words on the work we've been doing to build a Capital Markets Union. To talk about what we've done so far and also to sketch out the next steps which it now falls to my friend and colleague Valdis Dombrovskis to take forward. I know some people have been wondering whether my leaving will mean a change of direction for CMU. I...

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Chapter News

European Commission proposes signature and conclusion of EU-Canada trade deal

The European Commission today formally proposed to the Council of the EU the signature and conclusion of a free trade agreement between the EU and Canada, known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA. The deal is set to benefit people and businesses – big and small – across Europe as of the first day of its implementation. To allow for a swift signature and provisional application, so that the expected benefits are reaped without unnecessary delay,...

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Chapter News, Trade & TTIP Related

ITA Report Shows 92 Percent Of U.S. Goods Exports May Be Affected By Foreign Technical Regulations

The International Trade Administration (ITA) released a new report today that finds 92 percent of U.S. goods exports in 2015—more than $1.3 trillion—were potentially affected by foreign technical regulations that could have a significant trade impact. "This report demonstrates the pervasiveness of technical regulations and their potential to affect U.S. exports," said Acting U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Ken Hyatt. "Regulations and testing and certification procedures that diverge from international standards—especially in ways that are unnecessarily trade-restrictive—can...

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