Brussels, 22 March 2016 I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the people of Brussels, to the many wounded, to the families and loved ones of those cruelly hit by the explosions this morning at Zaventem airport and Maelbeek Metro Station. I would also like to express my full support for and solidarity with the Belgian authorities. I commend the security forces, emergency services and all those who have helped victims and are still doing so now. I would like...

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March 2016 Monetary policy Non-standard monetary policy measures On 10 March 2016 the Governing Council decided on a number of measures in the pursuit of its price stability objective. This set of measures encompasses, inter alia, the launch of a corporate sector purchase programme as an additional component of the asset purchase programme (APP), an increase in the combined monthly purchases under the APP to €80 billion, starting in April 2016 and the launch of a new series of four targeted longer-term...

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Initial findings from the Commission's e-commerce sector inquiry show that geo-blocking is widespread in the EU. This is partly due to unilateral decisions by companies not to sell abroad but also contractual barriers set up by companies preventing consumers from shopping online across EU borders. The European Commission has published initial findings on the prevalence of geo-blocking which prevents consumers from purchasing consumer goods and accessing digital content online in the European Union. The information was gathered by the Commission...

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Today the Commission is opening a call for proposals under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to help finance key EU energy infrastructure projects. €200 million will be made available for projects aiming to eliminate bottlenecks that prevent the free flow of energy across EU countries. Once finalised, these projects will contribute towards the completion of an EU internal energy market and the creation of a resilient Energy Union. This EU money is expected to act as a catalyst to speed...

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Today's approval of ten TEN-T Major Projects from the 2014-2020 financing period means new opportunities for jobs and growth Today the European Commission has approved ten major projects worth €3.3 billion for the construction of approximately 330km of new express roads in Poland. The projects will receive contributions from the Cohesion Fund of €1.2 billion and €493 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Jyrki Katainen, Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said: "Transport infrastructure is one of the...

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The European Union and the Republic of Moldova (hereinafter "Moldova) held today the second meeting of the Association Council under the Association Agreement. The EU and Moldova reconfirmed the common determination to implement their commitments to strengthening Moldova´s political association and economic integration with the EU. While acknowledging the provisional application of the Association Agreement since September 2014, the Association Council highlighted the forthcoming full entry into force of the Agreement, now that Moldova and all EU member states have...

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Economic activity is poised for a pickup this year as the drag from the unfavorable external environment diminishes. Thanks to many years of fiscal effort, the budget deficit now stands at an appropriate level, and over the medium term the focus should be on avoiding any deterioration in structural terms. Sustainably advancing Lithuania’s living standards now depends on making determined progress with structural reforms, which ideally should be bound together in a comprehensive and coherent package to provide strategic...

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In jurisdictions with financial sectors deemed by the IMF to be systemically important, including Ireland, financial stability assessments under the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) are a mandatory part of Article IV surveillance, and are supposed to take place every five years. IMF FSAPs are currently being conducted in a number of Euro area countries including Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, headed by Daniel Hardy, visited Ireland during December 2015 and March 2016...

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