The EU finance ministers on 18 February discussed the possible adjustments to the Council's general approach reached in December 2013 on the single resolution mechanism. The discussion was held with a view to giving more flexibility to the presidency in the forthcoming "trilogue" negotiations with the European Parliament on the establishment of the single resolution mechanism (SRM) – one of the key elements of Europe's future banking union. While not diverging from the key elements of the general approach, the ministers...

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According to a European Commission report on the current status of EU industry, most sectors have still not regained their pre-crisis level of output and significant differences exist between sectors and Member States. According to a European Commission report published today on the current status of EU industry, most sectors have still not regained their pre-crisis level of output and significant differences exist between sectors and Member States. The "EU industrial structure report 2013: Competing in Global Value Chains" sheds...

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  After the meetings with USTR Froman, Commissioner De Gucht will hold a press conference at 12:45 PM, which can be followed live on EbS . The Commissioner will also hold a speech at the Atlantic Council afterwards (on C-SPAN). Press Statement by EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht following the stocktaking meeting with USTR Michael Froman on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP): Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. After three rounds of talks for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)...

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Directly following the conclusion of the political stock-taking exercise with US Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman, European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht will offer his own unique insights on prospects for the ongoing transatlantic trade talks and to assess progress achieved so far. Please join the Atlantic Council this afternoon at 1:45 p.m. EST for a live webcast of our conversation with Commissioner De Gucht on the latest developments in the negotiations and map out where the two sides...

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What are the main future cybercrime threats on the horizon? And how has the European Cybercrime Center (EC3) contributed to protect European citizens and businesses since its launch in January 2013? These questions are at the core of an EC3 report presented today, and discussed at a conference organised by the Commission, with participants from law enforcement authorities, national and EU institutions and the private sector. "Criminal behaviour is changing fast, exploiting technological developments and legal loopholes. Criminals will continue to...

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Staff teams from the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Nicosia during January 29-February 11, 2014 for the third review of Cyprus's economic programme, which is supported by financial assistance from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the IMF. The objectives of Cyprus’s programme are to restore financial sector stability, strengthen public finance sustainability, and adopt structural reforms so as to support long-run growth, while protecting the welfare of the population....

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The euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 12.0% in December 2013, stable since October. It was 11.9% in December 2012. The EU28 unemployment rate was 10.7% in December 2013, down from 10.8% in November. MORE INFORMATION Selected Principal European Economic Indicators

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Corruption continues to be a challenge for Europe. Affecting all EU Member States, corruption costs the European economy around 120 billion euros per year. Member States have taken many initiatives in recent years, but the results are uneven and more should be done to prevent and punish corruption. These are some of the conclusions from the first ever EU Anti-Corruption Report published today by the European Commission. The EU Anti-Corruption Report explains the situation in each Member State: what anti-corruption...

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On January 29th, the European Commission has issued guidance to member states that currently have rules preventing their citizens from voting because they live in another EU country. Of course, we are very supportive of this important step, even if we believe that an even better direction would be to also extend voting rights in the European Parliament elections to all EU citizens who reside outside the EU, and to harmonize all electoral procedures. You will find on the right sidebar a...

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The European Commission is urging Member States to recognise the central importance of industry for creating jobs and growth and to mainstream industry-related competitiveness concerns across all policy areas. This is the key message of the communication For a European Industrial Renaissance, adopted today. The Commission calls on the Council and the Parliament to adopt proposals on energy, transport, space and digital communications networks as well as implement and enforce legislation to complete the internal market. Furthermore industrial modernisation must...

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