The European Union as a whole is confronted with an ageing population. In 2014, the proportion of persons aged 65 or over reached 18.5% in the EU and it is projected to further increase in the future to almost 30% by 2080. In particular, the proportion of persons aged 80 or over among the total population is expected to more than double, from just over 5% in 2014 to more than 12% by 2080. This demographic trend confronts the EU...

Read more

The European Commission has launched a public consultation to help identify ways to simplify the Value-Added Tax (VAT) payments on cross-border e-commerce transactions in the EU. The Commission is seeking to receive a wide range of views from business owners and other interested parties before it drafts its legislative proposals on the topic in 2016, as part of the Digital Single Market strategy. Andrus Ansip, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, said: "We promised to support companies, and especially...

Read more

NEWARK – A consortium of academic, policy and business organizations led by the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has been awarded a “Getting to Know Europe” grant from the Delegation of the European Union (EU) that is designed to boost economies on both sides of the Atlantic through the expansion of cooperation and trade. Over the next two years, NJIT, through its New Jersey Innovation Institute, and its partners will organize forums on topics of mutual interest to EU...

Read more

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the eighth review of Cyprus’s economic adjustment program supported by the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. The completion of the review enables the disbursement of SDR 99 million (about €126 million), which brings total disbursements under the program to SDR 693 million (about €882 million). Completion of the ninth review would be expected to take place before the end of the year. The three-year, SDR 891 million (about €1...

Read more

The Commission wants to hear from citizens, manufacturers, retailers (especially SMEs), right holders, data and cloud service providers and users, as well as all those involved in the collaborative economy. Today the European Commission is launching a public debate with two consultations: one on geo-blocking and the other one on platforms, online intermediaries, data, cloud computing and the collaborative economy. Views expressed and information gathered will help the Commission assess the need for, or prepare initiatives as part of the...

Read more

ECB President Mario Draghi painted a somewhat downbeat picture of economic developments in the Eurozone but assured Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee MEPs that the ECB "will not hesitate to act if some of the downward risks weaken the inflation outlook over the mid-term more fundamentally than we project at present". He hinted at the possibility of adjusting the size, composition and duration of the ECB’s asset purchase programme, to add monetary policy impetus if necessary. In this year’s third...

Read more

The environment committee said on Wednesday that Parliament's delegation to the COP 21 climate talks in Paris must call for a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, a 40% energy-efficiency target and a binding 30% target for renewable energy. In a resolution adopted by 55 votes to 5, with 8 abstentions, the committee also says a share of the EU's carbon market allowances should be earmarked for climate finance and the aviation and shipping sectors should initiate measures...

Read more

Multilingualism is central to the European Union’s cultural heritage, and the EU protects its linguistic diversity, promotes language learning, and encourages its citizens to become multilingual. Multilingualism allows people to take full advantage of the opportunities offered across the EU, from employment to culture, from living or retiring in another EU country to undertaking multinational business ventures. Now in its 15th year, the European Day of Languages is celebrated on September 26 each year with numerous events highlighting the positive...

Read more