1. The Communication "A Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy" of 25 February 2015 and the European Council Conclusions of 19-20 March 2015 recognised the importance of the external dimension of the Energy Union. The objectives of the Energy Union can only be met if the external and the internal dimensions of energy policy, in particular a fully functioning Internal Energy Market, are mutually reinforcing. 2. EU policy objectives defined in the EU...

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The Eurogroup welcomes the successful completion of the relevant national procedures related to the decision to grant in principle a 3-year ESM stability support to Greece, and especially the recent swift legislative steps taken by the Greek parliament as a first step towards rebuilding trust.  Following a formal decision taken by the ESM Board of Governors, the institutions were entrusted with the task of swiftly negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) detailing the policy conditionality attached to the financial assistance...

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Remarks by Valdis Dombrovskis EU Commission Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue |  Brussels, 17 July 2015 Good afternoon everybody, This has been a week of important decisions in terms of helping Greece to regain financial stability and to put its economy back on track. These decisions are ultimately being taken for the sake of Greek people. First, the Greek Parliament adopted, with a large majority, the first set of reforms. It was a first but crucial step towards rebuilding trust between...

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Labour market developments have been improving against the background of a gradual economic recovery in the EU. Unemployment in the EU has continued to fall and job finding rates have modestly improved. However, despite its recent fall, unemployment remains high. The number of unemployed in the first quarter of 2015 was 23.6 million in the EU. The share of long-term unemployed is on the rise, standing at 4.9% in the first quarter of 2015. EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs,...

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The Eurogroup welcomes the adoption by the Greek Parliament of all the commitments specified in the Euro Summit statement of 12 July. On the basis of a positive assessment by the institutions, which concluded that the authorities have implemented the first set of four measures in a timely and overall satisfactory manner and which confirmed that the Euro Summit statement has been included in the preamble to the implementing law adopted by the Greek parliament, we reached today a decision...

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193 Countries today agreed on a series of bold measures to overhaul global finance practices and generate investments for tackling a range of economic, social and environmental challenges at the United Nations Third International Conference on Financing for Development, being held in Addis Ababa. The groundbreaking agreement, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, provides a foundation for implementing the global sustainable development agenda that world leaders are expected to adopt this September. The agreement was reached by the 193 UN Member...

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Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, Vítor Constâncio, Vice-President of the ECB, Frankfurt am Main, 16 July 2015 Ladies and gentlemen, the Vice-President and I are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference. We will now report on the outcome of today’s meeting of the Governing Council, which was also attended by the Commission Vice-President, Mr Dombrovskis.Based on our regular economic and monetary analyses, and in line with our forward guidance, we decided to keep the key ECB interest...

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As part of the Energy Union strategy, today the Commission presented proposals to deliver a new deal for energy consumers, to launch a redesign of the European electricity market, to update energy efficiency labelling and to revise the EU Emissions Trading System. The package is an important step towards implementing the Energy Union strategy with a forward looking climate change policy, launched as one of the political priorities of the Juncker Commission in February 2015. Today's proposals give prominence to...

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Collectively, the European Union has consistently been the world’s largest donor of Official Development Assistance in recent years—€ 58 billion in 2014 alone—a reflection of the EU’s determination to help alleviate poverty globally and promote sustainable development. In this European Year for Development, the EU is leading the charge to reach an agreement that will mobilize all possible means to finance the post-2015 development agenda. Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this week...

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Two days after an agreement paving the way for a new support programme for Greece, the European Commission revealed plans today to help Greece maximise its use of EU funds. As mandated by the Euro Summit on 12/13 July, this will help mobilise more than €35 billion up to 2020 to support the Greek economy, provided that the conditions agreed upon by the Euro Summit will be met. The Jobs and Growth Plan for Greece is meant to flank the...

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