EU and U.S. negotiators have been hard at work discussing the complexities of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) since July 2013. As talks focus increasingly on technical topics, it is important for the public to be able to understand—in plain language—what the give-and-take is all about. The framework of the agreement is divided into three main areas:  market access; regulatory cooperation; and rules. Within each of these categories, numerous subcategories cover specific components of TTIP. For example, market...

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In 2013, gross inland energy consumption1, which reflects the energy necessary to satisfy inland consumption, amounted in the European Union (EU) to 1 666 million tonnes of oil equivalent2 (Mtoe), back to its early 1990s level and down by 9.1% compared to its peak of 1 832 Mtoe in 2006. In 2013, nuclear energy (29%) accounted for the largest share of EU domestic production of energy, ahead of renewables (24%), solid fuels (20%), gas (17%), oil (9%) and non-renewable wastes...

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During his State of the Union address, President Obama noted that “21st-century businesses, including small businesses, need to sell more American products overseas. … 95 percent of the world’s customers live outside our borders, and we can’t close ourselves off from those opportunities.” Today, 98 percent of American companies that export are small businesses, but more than half of our exporters are only selling to one foreign market, usually Canada or Mexico. It’s time to take action to help more...

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Brussels, 28 January 2015 The European Commission has today kicked off its project to create a Capital Markets Union (CMU) for all 28 EU Member States with a first orientation debate at the College of Commissioners. The CMU is one of the flagship projects of this Commission and ties in with the ambition to boost jobs and growth in the EU. It is designed to help businesses to tap into diverse sources of capital from anywhere in the EU and offer investors and savers additional opportunities to...

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The Delegation of the European Union to the United States of America offers internships to young university graduates with no, or only limited (one year maximum), relevant professional experience, as well as to students in the final years of university where the traineeship is a complement to their academic training. The internship program offers dynamic individuals the opportunity to learn about the work of one of the EU’s largest and most active diplomatic missions and to develop a comprehensive understanding...

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EU solidarity should not replace decisions that must be taken in countries suffering economic difficulties, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble told Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee MEPs in Tuesday’s special debate on the review of the economic governance framework. His Italian colleague Pier Carlo Paduan, vehemently rejected criticism of measures to bring down Italy’s deficit and stressed the need to better coordinate reform policies. Asked for his opinion on greater flexibility or risk sharing within the EU Stability and Growth...

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1/26/2015 Thank you to Vice President Dombrovskis for hosting today. We have had a very constructive meeting, and agree on the importance of the United States and our European partners continuing to build a stronger global economy. In the United States, our economic recovery continues to strengthen. Over the past 5 years, our private sector has created more than 11 million jobs, the longest streak of private-sector job growth in our nation’s history.  Our growth been supported by increases in household wealth,...

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"21st  century businesses, including small businesses, need to sell more American products overseas.  Today, our businesses export more than ever, and exporters tend to pay their workers higher wages. But as we speak, China wants to write the rules for the world's fastest-growing region. That would put our workers and businesses at a disadvantage. Why would we let that happen? We should write those rules. We should level the playing field. That's why I'm asking both parties to give...

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PRESS RELEASE | 22 January 2015  ECB expands purchases to include bonds issued by euro area central governments, agencies and European institutions Combined monthly asset purchases to amount to €60 billion Purchases intended to be carried out until at least September 2016 Programme designed to fulfil price stability mandate The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) today announced an expanded asset purchase programme. Aimed at fulfilling the ECB’s price stability mandate, this programme will see the ECB add the purchase of sovereign...

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