The regional yearbook, published every year by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, provides an overview of European regional statistics covering a wide range of fields. It is thus a helpful tool to understand the regional diversity that exists within the EU. Commenting on the yearbook, Marianne Thyssen, responsible for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobilitysaid: "Despite economic recovery and signs of improvements in the EU labour market, the employment situation varies between the EU Member States. We can observe the...

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The new rules will protect consumers better when they make payments, promote the development and use of innovative online and mobile payments and make European payment services safer. The European Commission welcomes today's adoption by the European Parliament of the revised Directive on Payment Services. This new law, proposed by the European Commission in July 2013, enhances consumer protection, promotes innovation and improves the security of payment services. PSD2 is the latest in a series of laws recently adopted by the...

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Stop. Think. Connect. Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility! The EU’s month-long campaign to promote cybersecurity (#ECSM ) starts with these buzzwords. More than 100 events and activities organized in 25 countries aim to reach and educate citizens and communities about the risks and benefits of online communications and transactions and to share best practices for averting security breaches. “Raising awareness of the risks and threats, as well as the fact that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility,” are the cybersecurity campaign’s main objectives,” according to European...

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On October 1, Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, was awarded the Atlantic Council’s 2015 Global Citizen Award. IMF head Christine Lagarde presented the award to Draghi at a ceremony in New York, and said he had “moved Europe in the direction of stability”. Draghi was one of four prominent individuals recognized as having made exceptional and distinctive contributions to strengthening the transatlantic relationship. In his speech, President Draghi spoke about the importance of the European Union to the global economy and...

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Speaking points of First Vice-President Timmermans and Commissioner Jourová First Vice-President Timmermans and Commissioner Jourová 's press conference on Safe Harbour following the Court ruling in case C-362/14 (Schrems) First Vice-President Frans Timmermans : Today's judgment by the Court is an important step towards upholding Europeans' fundamental rights to data protection. The Court confirms the need of having robust data protection safeguards in place before transferring citizens' data. I see this as a confirmation of the European Commission's approach for the renegotiation of...

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Good evening and welcome to this press conference. We had a Regular Eurogroup, and a agenda which goes through issues of growth and competitiveness as always. First let me fill you in on Greece. We took stock of the latest developments. Of course we welcomed the swift formation of the new government. And welcomed the strong commitment of the Greek authorities to implement the programme. A lot of work remains to be done in the coming months. So it is very...

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Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, has welcomed the final package of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) measures that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) adopted today. The BEPS package sets out a new international approach to corporate tax reform, aimed at preventing corporate tax avoidance and re-aligning taxation to the place of real economic activity. "The OECD has done impressive work to help countries around the world find common solutions to common...

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Policy makers will need to strengthen policies to address current challenges and help lead the world economy to recovery, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a speech at the Council of the Americas. “I am calling on policymakers to make a policy upgrade to address the current challenges,” Lagarde said. Lagarde, speaking ahead of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings that take place October 9-11 in Lima, Peru, stated that the world is at a “difficult and complex juncture.” The prospect of...

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What does the Capital Markets Union have to do with infrastructure in Europe? One of the goals of the Capital Markets Union is to help mobilise capital in Europe and channel it to the infrastructure and long term sustainable projects that Europe needs to create jobs. By amending the rules on how much capital insurance companies need to hold, the Commission is giving them incentives to invest for the long-term in infrastructure. These changes will free up millions of euros...

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