Cristian Popa has been appointed Vice-President and member of the Management Committee of the European Investment Bank (EIB) by the Bank’s Board of Governors, consisting of the 28 European Union Finance Ministers. A Romanian citizen and former Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Romania, Cristian Popa was appointed by the EIB’s Board of Governors on the basis of a proposal from the Minister of Finance of Romania. He will take up his duties on 1 March 2016. “It is an...

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The European Commission today published its annual analysis of the economic and social challenges in the EU Member States, the so-called Country Reports. The European Commission today published its annual analysis of the economic and social challenges in the EU Member States, the so-called Country Reports. The reports are a tool under the streamlined European Semester of economic policy coordination to monitor policy reforms and to point early on to challenges that Member States should address. Following the publication in...

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DISCOVERY is an international cooperation project co-funded by Horizon 2020 EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation that was launched on January 1 2016. Over the next 2 years the project will implement an interactive work plan to support dialogues between Europe and North America (U.S. and Canada) and to foster cooperation in ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Research & Innovation. One of the main results of the DISCOVERY project will be the creation of the Transatlantic ICT Forum designed...

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From connectivity and digital skills to public services, EU countries have made progress since last year which marked the launch of the Digital Single Market Strategy by the European Commission. Today the European Commission published the results of the 2016 edition of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). The findings show that Member States have made progress in areas such as connectivity and digital skills, as well as in public services, since the publication of the Commission's Digital Single...

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President Buzek, dear friend, Ladies and gentlemen, It is a great pleasure to celebrate the first anniversary of the Energy Union here with the Jacques Delors Institute, of all institutions. Let me therefore start by thanking Notre Europe/ the Jacques Delors Institute for organising this event on this very special day. Indeed, exactly one year ago, the Commission presented the Energy Union Strategy, a project which I have the privilege of steering for the Commission. Today is an opportunity to reflect back...

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When people in the UK vote on 23 June on their country’s EU membership, it will have consequences for the whole of Europe. MEPs debated on Wednesday 24 February the possible consequences of the referendum. Most MEPs said the country would be better off in the EU, while others insisted it would benefit from leaving. The debate during the plenary session in Brussels was about the EU summit on 18-19 February dedicated to the refugee crisis and the UK referendum. UK...

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The annual growth rate of the broad monetary aggregate M3 increased to 5.0% in January 2016, from 4.7% in December. The annual growth rate of the narrower aggregate M1, which includes currency in circulation and overnight deposits, decreased to 10.5% in January, from 10.8% in December. The annual growth rate of loans to households stood at 1.4% in January, unchanged from December. The annual growth rate of loans to non-financial corporations increased to 0.6% in January, from 0.1% in...

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Eight years after the start of the economic crisis, recovery in the European Union is still weak and uneven, with member states struggling to put their debts under control and unemployment still too high. MEPs discuss the challenges during a plenary debate on the annual cycle of economic policy coordination within the EU, on 24 February. Parliamentary committees have prepared reports calling for structural reforms that create jobs and boost productivity. Plenary debate The European semester is how EU countries...

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Parliament's political group leaders will react to the EU-UK reform deal reached at the EU summit and comment on the changes conceded by EU leaders to the UK as well as their consequences for the European Union as a whole. The debate with Council President Donald Tusk and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will start at 3.10pm. Member states' responses to the ongoing refugee crisis will also be addressed by MEPs during the debate on the outcome of the 18-19 February...

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Questions and answers on combining European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds with the Investment Plan's European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) following publication of guidelines The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds) are important contributors to the EU goals of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Over the 2014-2020 period, €454 billion will be invested in 500 programmes and targeted at strategic, growth-generating areas, primarily in Research, Development & Innovation, support to SMEs, the low-carbon economy, and Information and Communication...

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