Speech at the American Council on Germany in New York | Friday, 4 December 2015 Ladies and gentlemen Thank you for inviting me to speak here today. Attending ACG events is always a pleasure for me. “The unity of Europe was the dream of a few. It became the hope of many. Today it has become a necessity for all of us.” These words will sound very familiar indeed to anyone who closely follows contemporary politics in Europe. They were spoken back...

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After a slow-down in August, the value of EU agri-food exports has resumed the positive trend (+13%), as monthly exports in September exceeded imports by €2 billion. The exports to the US (+19%) and China (+18%) did particularly well. Russia fell down to fourth position as destination for EU agri-food exports, after US, China and Switzerland. Most significant increases in monthly export values were witnessed for wine, spirits and liqueurs and for chocolate and confectionaries.  Imports to the EU in...

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Today, the Justice and Home Affairs Council adopted the Commission's proposal for a new legal basis for Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency. Earlier this week, the European Parliament's Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs had already endorsed the proposal. The draft regulation should now be formally approved by the Parliament, in Plenary. Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos said: "This agreement on the Europol regulation is a particularly important achievement in times when security and the...

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The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation1 with Sweden. Sweden’s economy is performing well, with real GDP growth of 3.4 percent per year in the first three quarters of 2015, up from 2.3 percent in 2014. Job creation was robust in the first three quarters of 2015, helping bring the unemployment rate down to 7.2 percent in the third quarter. Solid growth of about 3 percent is expected to continue into 2016. Core inflation (HICP...

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At today’s meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the interest rate on the deposit facility will be decreased by 10 basis points to -0.30%, with effect from 9 December 2015. The interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rate on the marginal lending facility will remain unchanged at 0.05% and 0.30% respectively. Introductory statement to the press conference by Mario Draghi Key ECB interest rates More information on monetary policy Compliments of the European Central Bank

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On 2 December 2015, the Permanent Representatives Committee approved an agreement reached with the European Parliament for the re-establishment and re-organisation of the existing EURES network. The new EURES is strengthened and modernized. Its portal becomes an up-to-date mobility tool using the latest IT technologies, accessible for all. “This new regulation on the re-establishment of EURES emphasizes the importance that we all put in one of the fundamental freedoms of Union citizens, the free movement of workers. It offers new job...

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The heads of the world’s largest development banks pledged today to work together to substantially increase climate investments and ensure that development programs going forward consider climate risks and opportunities. In a joint statement released at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the World Bank Group (WBG)...

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On 2 December 2015, the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) approved, on behalf of the Council, a negotiating stance on proposals aimed at facilitating the development of a securitisation market in Europe.  The agreement, brokered by the Luxembourg presidency, comes just nine weeks after the Commission made its proposal. It will enable the incoming presidency to start talks with the European Parliament as soon as possible in 2016. “These proposals aim to relaunch the securitisation market, by promoting simple, transparent and standardised securitisations. The objective is to contribute to the financing...

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