ECB wage tracker, updated with agreements signed up to 19 February 2025, broadly unrevised compared to data release following January Governing Council meeting Forward-looking information continues to suggest that negotiated wage pressures will ease overall in 2025 Forward-looking information from the wage tracker should not be interpreted as a forecast The European Central Bank (ECB) wage tracker, which only covers active collective bargaining agreements, indicates negotiated wage growth with smoothed one-off payments of 4.7% in 2024 (based on an...

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The Council reached a political agreement today on a new EU directive (DAC9) that will improve administrative cooperation in the field of taxation. The objective of this legislation is to enhance cooperation and information exchange on minimum effective corporate taxation to better fulfil the filling obligations that multinational enterprise groups and large-scale domestic groups have under the Pillar 2 of the G20/OECD global agreement. This international deal was reached to avoid base erosion and profit shifting, ensuring that large corporations...

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Federal bank regulatory agencies today reported in the 2024 Shared National Credit (SNC) report that credit risk associated with large, syndicated bank loans remains moderate. However, the agencies noted weakened credit quality trends continue due to the pressure of higher interest rates on leveraged borrowers and compressed operating margins in some industry sectors. The agencies also noted that the magnitude and direction of risk in 2025 is likely to be impacted by borrowers' ability to manage interest expenses, real estate...

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Blog post by Clémence Berson, Vasco Botelho, Luis Guirola Abenza, Laura Hospido, Friderike Kuik, Christiane Nickel and Manuel Rojo Lopez | The gender gap in labour markets is narrowing. But this process has slowed down. The ECB Blog gives an overview of recent developments for all euro area countries. The gender gap at work is closing – but slowly. Women are paid less for their work than men are. Inequality on the labour market keeps us from making the best use...

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The Union of Skills will support the development of our Union's human capital to strengthen EU competitiveness. A key initiative of the first 100 days of this Commission, the Union of Skills will:   Deliver higher levels of basic skills, for example through the Basic Skills Support Scheme pilot; Provide lifelong opportunities for adults to regularly upskill and reskill, for example through a Skills Guarantee pilot; Facilitate recruitment by businesses across the EU, for example through a Skills Portability Initiative; Attract...

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We are living in the most momentous and dangerous of times. I do not need to describe the grave nature of the threats that we face. Or the devastating consequences that we will have to endure if those threats would come to pass. Because the question is no longer whether Europe's security is threatened in a very real way. Or whether Europe should shoulder more of the responsibility for its own security. In truth, we have long known the...

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The Union of Skills will support the development of our Union's human capital to strengthen EU competitiveness. A key initiative of the first 100 days of this Commission, the Union of Skills will:   Deliver higher levels of basic skills, for example through the Basic Skills Support Scheme pilot; Provide lifelong opportunities for adults to regularly upskill and reskill, for example through a Skills Guarantee pilot; Facilitate recruitment by businesses across the EU, for example through a Skills Portability Initiative; Attract...

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Today, the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) celebrates its first year in action for the development and manufacturing of critical technologies in Europe. Over the past year, STEP has pooled the investment firepower of 11 EU programmes, mobilising over €15 billion to support Europe's competitiveness in three strategic sectors: digital technologies and deep-tech innovation, clean and resource-efficient technologies, and biotechnologies. So far, €9.1 billion of EU funds have been mobilised towards STEP across five programmes managed by the Commission directly, namely the Digital Europe programme, the European...

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Smart policies that help people realize their potential can be game-changing for entire societies Every great leap in human progress—from the printing press to the steam engine to the semiconductor—has been driven by ideas. But ideas do not emerge in a vacuum; they come from people. And among them, it is often the most talented minds that push the boundaries of what is possible. This makes talent one of the world’s most valuable resources that can drive innovation and growth. Countries...

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