From Monday to Saturday, Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, in charge of Economy and Productivity, Implementation and Simplification, Commissioner Jozef Síkela, in charge of International Partnerships, and Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque, in charge of Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union, are attending the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, D.C.   Commissioner Dombrovskis will represent the European Commission at the sessions of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) at the International Monetary Fund...

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EIB Group President Nadia Calviño will lead an EIB Group delegation to meet   global partners and fellow Multilateral Development Banks in Washington DC Boosting strategic investment to reinforce peace, prosperity and partnerships is at the heart of the EIB Group agenda Announcements to include  new investments for energy security, climate action and accelerated support for Ukraine, as well strengthening cooperation with fellow Multilateral Development Banks An EIB Group delegation led by President Nadia Calviño will participate in the 2025 Spring Meetings of...

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International aid from official donors fell in 2024 by 7.1% in real terms compared to 2023, the first drop after five years of consecutive growth, according to preliminary data collected by the OECD. The fall in official development assistance (ODA) was due to a reduction in contributions to international organisations, as well as a decrease in aid for Ukraine, lower levels of humanitarian aid and reduced spending on hosting refugees in donor countries. ODA by member countries of the OECD’s Development...

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Blog post by: Era Dabla-Norris, Davide Furceri, Mauricio Soto | Public approval is crucial for carrying out difficult reforms that can help countries lower debt and increase growth Many countries struggle with low economic growth and high debt and will need bold fiscal actions to restore their finances. Two significant areas for potential savings are energy subsidies and pension systems. However, reforms in both areas can be unpopular with the public. Public support is crucial for the success of these reforms, and governments...

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Today, the European Commission adopted the 2025-2030 working plan for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and Energy Labelling Regulation. The plan provides a list of products that should be prioritised to introduce ecodesign requirements and energy labelling over the next five years. This will foster sustainable, repairable, circular and energy efficient products across Europe,  in line with the Clean Industrial Deal and the Competitiveness Compass. The priority products for ecodesign and energy labelling requirements are steel and aluminium, textiles (with a focus on apparel), furniture, tyres and mattresses. These...

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NEW YORK—The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data today released the March 2025 Survey of Consumer Expectations, which shows that households’ inflation expectations increased at the short-term horizon, remained unchanged at the medium-term horizon, and ticked down at the longer-term horizon. Unemployment, job loss, and earnings growth expectations deteriorated. Household income growth expectations declined. Households were also more pessimistic about their year-ahead financial situations and credit access. Stock price expectations declined and reached the lowest level...

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Firms reported declining interest rates on bank loans, while indicating a slight further tightening of other lending conditions. The bank loan financing gap remained almost unchanged, with firms reporting a reduced need for such loans alongside a slight decrease in availability. Firms’ one-year-ahead median inflation expectations decreased slightly to 2.9%, down from 3%, while median inflation expectations three and five years ahead remained unchanged at 3.0%. In the most recent round of the Survey on the Access to Finance...

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Blog post by: Salih Fendoglu, Mahvash S. Qureshi, Felix Suntheim | Heightened tensions can hurt stock markets, raise government borrowing costs, and pose risks to financial stability Global geopolitical risks remain elevated, raising concerns about their potential impact on economic and financial stability. Shocks such as wars, diplomatic tensions, or terrorism can disrupt cross-border trade and investment. This can hurt asset prices, affect financial institutions, and curtail lending to the private sector, weighing on economic activity and posing a threat to financial stability. Such risks...

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The Cybersecurity Act strengthens the EU Agency for cybersecurity (ENISA) and establishes a cybersecurity certification framework for products and services. A new mandate for ENISA ENISA, the EU Agency for cybersecurity, is now stronger. The EU Cybersecurity Act grants a permanent mandate to the agency, and gives it more resources and new tasks. ENISA will have a key role in setting up and maintaining the European cybersecurity certification framework by preparing the technical ground for specific certification schemes. It will be in charge of informing the public on the...

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