The single resolution mechanism for banks can be set up without a treaty change, financial services commissioner Michel Barnier told lawmakers on Monday. He added that he was open to improving the mechanism through treaty changes at a later stage. MEPs questions mainly focused on banking union in the light of the concerns raised by some member states. Addressing the economic and monetary affairs committee, Mr Barnier said that five years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers there was...

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NYCEDC has announced its annual global new venture competition, NYC Next Idea. The competition provides students and recent alumni of  schools around the world the opportunity to access substantial funding ($35,000) and support to implement their business ideas in New York City. The early deadline for business summaries is October 28th.  The final deadline is November 11th. The competition is open to teams of 2-5 participants who have new and innovative ideas that could be commercially viable in New York City. ...

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In his 2013 State of the Union address to the European Parliament, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso set out his vision for the European Union in the year to come. He recalled the EU's determined response to the global financial crisis and what has been achieved since then, noting that Europe has good reason to be confident. "For Europe, recovery is within sight," President Barroso said, but warned that Europe must continue to reform. "This should push us to...

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The Governing Council of the ECB decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.50%, 1.00% and 0.00% respectively. In this context: Introductory statement to the press conference by Mario Draghi Key ECB interest rates More information on monetary policy

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Growth and jobs, fairer taxation, financial regulation, trade and Syria were the main themes at the G20 summit held in St Petersburg on 5-6 September 2013. "The G20 has proven its worth, in the face of the major challenges the global economy has experienced over the last 5 years, as the world's premier forum for economic cooperation: all G20 members remain determined to implement our ambitious commitments and take further steps on the way to strong and sustainable growth. We...

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++ ANNOUNCEMENT ++ President Barroso will deliver the fourth “State of the Union Address” on the morning of Wednesday, September 11, 2013 to the European Parliament. The speech will be followed by a debate with MEPs. https://europa.eu/newsroom/calendar/event/452050/state-of-the-union-address-2013 On Thursday September 12th, the President will answer questions from citizens in a live Euronews interview and Google+ Hangout. Questions can already be posted on Google+, Facebook and Twitter, using the hashtag #askBarroso. Social media posts, pre-recorded video and text questions will be incorporated in the...

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The Commission has today adopted a communication on shadow banking and proposed new rules for money market funds (MMFs). The communication is a follow-up to last year's Green Paper on Shadow Banking (IP/12/253). It summarises the work undertaken so far by the Commission and sets out possible further actions in this important area. The first of these further actions - the proposed new rules for money market funds – is unveiled today and aims to ensure that MMFs can better...

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Global efforts to battle trade protectionism need to be reinforced to help shield the fragile economic recovery across the world. In a report released today, the European Commission identified about 150 new trade restrictions introduced over the last year, whereas only 18 existing measures have been dismantled. A total of almost 700 new measures have been identified since October 2008, when the European Commission started monitoring global protectionist trends. Although the trend is slower than it was in 2011 and...

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Recently released economic figures and survey data suggest that the EU's economy is beginning to gain momentum. GDP rose by 0.3% in the EU in the second quarter of 2013, signaling subtle signs of a recovery. EU Commission Vice-President Olli Rehn's blog explains. Read more.

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