The Council and the European Parliament today reached a provisional agreement on the directive on multiple-vote share structures for companies seeking admission to trading of their shares on an SME growth market. The directive aims at encouraging company owners, especially owners of SMEs, to list the shares of their company for the first time on an SME growth market using multiple-vote share structures, so that they can retain sufficient control of their company after listing; moreover, the Directive protects...

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WASHINGTON – On January 30 and 31, the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the European Union Directorate-General for Trade (DG Trade) hosted a two-day stakeholder event to solicit views on how to promote a more integrated and resilient Transatlantic Green Marketplace. The event brought together representatives from the U.S. and EU stakeholder communities to engage in a series of thematic stakeholder-led discussions that focused on identifying opportunities for transatlantic collaboration to promote the transition to a more...

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SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, good morning, everyone.  It is wonderful to have our friends and colleagues from the EU here in Washington for our Trade and Technology Council number five. Let me just say at the outset, in the challenge of these times it is particularly valuable and appreciated by the United States to have in the EU a partner of first resort, not last resort.  And if we look at the many challenges that we’re working on closely together, we know...

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Major emerging markets have shown resilience to global rate gyrations, but more challenging times could be ahead. Global interest rates in recent months have gone on a rollercoaster, especially those on longer-term government bonds. Yields on 10-year US Treasuries are climbing again after pulling back from a 16-year high of 5 percent in October. Interest rate moves in other advanced economies had been equally prodigious. Emerging market economies, however, saw much milder rate moves. We take a longer-term perspective on this in...

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Today, the European Union and the United States held the fifth meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in Washington, D.C. The meeting allowed ministers to take stock of the progress of the TTC's work and to provide political steer on key priorities for the next TTC Ministerial meeting, which will take place in Belgium in spring. The TTC is the main forum for close cooperation on transatlantic trade and technology issues. It was co-chaired by European Commission Executive Vice-President...

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The financial disruptions during the coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have once again underscored the importance of euro liquidity lines. The market tensions triggered by these crises squeezed euro liquidity in a significant number of non-euro area countries. In response, the ECB extended euro liquidity lines to the relevant central banks, thus enabling them to alleviate the funding strains on their domestic financial institutions. Providing euro liquidity to non-euro area countries shields the transmission of monetary policy...

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Increasing impact of climate crisis on economy and financial system drives need for more action ECB reaffirms commitment to ongoing climate actions and will review them regularly Three focus areas to guide work for 2024 and 2025: implications of green transition, physical impact of climate change, and nature-related risks for the economy and financial system The European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to expand its work on climate change, identifying three focus areas that will guide its activities in...

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Policy focus must shift to repairing public finances and improving medium-term growth prospects. The clouds are beginning to part. The global economy begins the final descent toward a soft landing, with inflation declining steadily and growth holding up. But the pace of expansion remains slow, and turbulence may lie ahead. Global activity proved resilient in the second half of last year, as demand and supply factors supported major economies. On the demand side, stronger private and government spending sustained activity, despite...

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Today the Council adopted its negotiating mandate for talks with the European Parliament on a proposal to phase out the use of dental amalgam and prohibit the manufacturing, import and export of a number of mercury-added products, including certain lamps. The proposal addresses the residual remaining uses of mercury in products in the EU, with a view to establishing a mercury-free Europe. The negotiating mandate, which was agreed at Coreper level, sets out the Council’s position for the start of negotiations (‘trilogues’)...

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The misalignment with the EU climate transition pathway can lead to material financial, legal and reputational risks for banks. It is therefore crucial for banks to identify, measure and − most importantly − manage transition risks, just as they do for any other material risk writes Frank Elderson, member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB. Eight years ago in Paris, global leaders reached a landmark agreement, committing to limit the...

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