TTIP is clearly going to be a prominent issue but it faces serious opposition in some EU countries, especially on the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) and other matters such as GMOs. What, if anything, can and should the US do to address that opposition? "The fundamental reason the United States and the EU agreed to pursue the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is to build on what is already a very successful trade and investment relationship – with bilateral...

Read more

The Commission, assisted by the European Environment Agency, today releases its annual Progress Report assessing the headway on climate action. According to latest estimates, EU greenhouse gas emissions in 2013 fell by 1.8% compared to 2012 and reached the lowest levels since 1990. So not only is the EU well on track to reach the 2020 target, it is also well on track to overachieve it. The Progress Report also for the first time provides data on the use of...

Read more

The European Commission's autumn forecast projects weak economic growth for the rest of this year in both the EU and the euro area. Real GDP growth is expected to reach 1.3% in the EU and 0.8% in the euro area for 2014 as a whole. MORE INFORMATION: Speech by Vice-President Jyrki Katainen and Commissioner Pierre Moscovici DOCUMENT. European Economic Forecast - Autumn 2014 Autumn Economic Forecast – powerpoint presentation More information on the Autumn forecast 2014

Read more

Today the Juncker Commission is officially starting its term of office that will run until 31 October 2019. On this occasion, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: "Thanks to the democratic support of European citizens, the European Parliament and Heads of State and government, today the new Commission takes office. Now it's time to roll up the sleeves and get down to work. Europe's challenges cannot wait. As of today, my team and I will work hard to deliver Europe...

Read more

More than 200 organisations and 400 cyber-security professionals from 29 European countries are testing their readiness to counter cyber-attacks in a day-long simulation, organised by the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA). In Cyber Europe 2014 experts from the public and private sectors including cyber security agencies, national Computer Emergency Response Teams, ministries, telecoms companies, energy companies, financial institutions and internet service providers are testing their procedures and capabilities against in a life-like, large-scale cyber-security scenario. #CyberEurope2014 is the largest...

Read more

Ideas on how to ensure a simpler, more effective and more fraud-proof VAT system tailored to the Single Market in the EU have been outlined in a paper published by the Commission today. The aim is to create a “definitive VAT regime”, to replace the temporary and out-dated VAT system, which has been in place in the EU for over 2 decades. The future VAT regime should better meet the needs of businesses in the Single Market and be less susceptible...

Read more

In a meeting in Luxembourg on 28 October, environment ministers adopted conclusions on 'greening' the European Semester and the Europe 2020 strategy. The conclusions recognise that a greener economy contributes to long term prosperity, and highlight the need for a transition towards a resource efficient circular economy. In particular, they underline the need for: better integrating resource efficiency in the Europe 2020 strategy, through the introduction of a non-binding aspirational target taking into consideration circular economy principles and the potential for green...

Read more

Meet Poppy, the first completely open-source, 3D printed, humanoid robot (@poppy_project). Poppy is a robot that anybody can build and program. That means it's not just a tool for scientists and engineers: the team of developers aims to make it part of vocational training in schools, giving students the opportunity to experiment. Poppy was developed in France by Inria's Flowers team, which creates computer and robotic models as tools for understanding developmental processes in humans. Dr Pierre-Yves Oudeyer, who...

Read more

Safer banks serving the economy: the European Commission welcomes the publication of the results of the EU-wide stress test by the European Banking Authority and the comprehensive assessment by the European Central Bank. Since the onset of the financial crisis, major improvements in the EU regulatory framework, the level and quality of banks’ capital and supervision have considerably strengthened the resilience of European banks. Today’s results of the EU-wide stress test and the comprehensive assessment, which represent the most intense...

Read more