April 3, 2016 His Excellency Mr. Alexis Tsipras Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic Athens, Greece Dear Prime Minister, Thank you for your letter of April 2, in which you ask about the IMF’s position regarding the program negotiations with Greece. My view of the ongoing negotiations is that we are still a good distance away from having a coherent program that I can present to our Executive Board. I have on many occasions stressed that we can only support a program that is credible...

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2016 National Trade Estimate Illustrates the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Efforts to Remove Obstacles to Made-in-America Exports and Increase Economic Opportunity Abroad for American Workers, Farmers, and Businesses Washington, D.C. – American exports are a critical source of economic growth, prosperity, and jobs in every state. Central to President Obama’s commitment to doing trade right is applying all of the resources available to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) toward opening important markets to American exports, and leveling the playing...

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Speech by Peter Praet, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at Luiss School of European Political Economy, Rome, 4 April 2016 In the last half century central banks have come a long way in how they approach their macro-stabilisation functions. As recently as the late 1970s, views still diverged across advanced economy central banks as to the efficacy of monetary policy in delivering price stability. Some, such as the Bundesbank and the Swiss National Bank, were already committed...

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Hourly labour costs ranged from €4.1 to €41.3 across the EU Member States in 2015-Lowest in Bulgaria and Romania, highest in Denmark and Belgium In 2015, average hourly labour costs in the whole economy (excluding agriculture and public administration) were estimated to be €25.0 in the European Union (EU) and €29.5 in the euro area. However, this average masks significant gaps between EU Member States, with the lowest hourly labour costs recorded in Bulgaria (€4.1), Romania (€5.0), Lithuania (€6.8), Latvia...

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As a result of one of the first measures in the Capital Markets Union Action Plan, insurers will find it more attractive and cheaper to invest in infrastructure projects as of tomorrow, 2 April 2016. The European Commission proposed an amendment to EU prudential rules, known as Solvency II, as part of the CMU Action Plan launched on 30 September 2015. This amendment to a delegated act under Solvency II was published today in the Official Journal and enters into...

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In 2015, the United States (€619 bn, or 18% of total EU trade in goods) and China (€521 bn, or 15%) continued to be the two main goods trading partners of the European Union (EU), well ahead of Switzerland (€253 bn, or 7%) and Russia (€210 bn, or 6%). Full text available on EUROSTAT website Compliments of the European Commission

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The Delegation of the European Union to the United States of America offers internships to young university graduates with no, or only limited (one year maximum), relevant professional experience, as well as to students in the final years of university where the traineeship is a complement to their academic training. The internship program offers dynamic individuals the opportunity to learn about the work of one of the EU’s largest and most active diplomatic missions and to develop a comprehensive understanding...

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Today, the EESC is releasing a study, entitled "The influence of Lifespan Labelling on Consumers", which clearly demonstrates the effect of lifetime labelling on consumer purchasing behaviour. And it's very clear: products labelled as long-lasting, such as suitcases and printers, would see a huge boost in sales, by 128 % and 70% respectively. Smartphones are markedly affected, with an increase of 41% on sales for products indicating a longer lifespan. Interestingly, the importance of the product lifetime to consumers...

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On 23 March 2016 the Council confirmed an informal agreement reached with the European Parliament on the revision of the directive concerning technical requirements for inland waterway vessels. The draft directive sets out a procedure for the application of uniform standards for inland navigation across Europe. The standards will be developed by the European Committee for drawing up standards in the field of inland navigation (CESNI), which was set up under the auspices of the Central Commission for Navigation of...

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Monetary developments in the euro area: February 2016 • The annual growth rate of the broad monetary aggregate M3 stood at 5.0% in February 2016, unchanged from the previous period. • The annual growth rate of the narrower aggregate M1, which includes currency in circulation and overnight deposits, decreased to 10.3% in February, from 10.5% in January. • The annual growth rate of loans to households stood at 1.6% in February, after 1.4% in January. • The annual growth rate of loans to...

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