Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB | Frankfurt am Main, 17 July 2023 | It is a great pleasure to open the ninth ECB conference on central, eastern and south-eastern European countries. The CESEE region – which comprises 21 different economies – can overall be considered a European success story in recent decades, having enjoyed rapid convergence towards higher-income countries. Between 2000 and 2021, the economic size of the region almost doubled to 40% of the euro area aggregate. And this strong...

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SPEECH by Governor Christopher J. Waller at the Money Marketeers of New York University, New York, New York | Thank you. Whenever I get such a warm welcome, I always say to myself, "Waller, they really aren't here for you or your sparkling personality. They're here for your outlook."1 Which is fine, because accurately communicating my economic outlook is an important part of my job. Tonight, in addition to providing new information about my outlook based on new data, I...

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When the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meet in Gandhinagar next week, the world will be looking for joint action to address rising economic fragmentation, slowing growth, and high inflation. Agile multilateral support is vital to tackle common challenges posed by debt vulnerabilities, climate change, and limited concessional financing—especially for countries hit by shocks not of their making. Outlook: resilience amid challenges In April, the IMF projected global growth at 2.8 percent in 2023, down from 3.4 percent in...

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When it comes to law enforcement action against unlawful conduct in the cryptocurrency marketplace, the temperature is rising, according to a proposed FTC settlement with crypto platform Celsius Network and a pending complaint against its former corporate officers. The make-no-mistake message for others in the industry: Don’t believe that “wild west” talk. Your sector may be novel, but established FTC consumer protection standards apply to you with full force. New Jersey-based Celsius Network marketed a broad range of cryptocurrency products and...

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Ask people about the records they consider the most private and they may say personal health data. (If they misunderstand the question, they may mention disco singles they bought in junior high – but perhaps that’s just us.) Of course, say “health privacy” and many people think of HIPAA – the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Did you know that some entities that hold or interact with consumers’ personal health records aren’t subject to HIPAA? But they may...

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The EU-U.S. Task Force on Energy Security met virtually on 6 July 2023 to discuss the implementation of the 25 March 2022 Joint Statement by Presidents Biden and von der Leyen, as well as their commitment of 10 March 2023 to continue to work together to advance energy security and sustainability in Europe. The meeting was co-chaired by Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director-General for Energy at the European Commission, and Sarah Ladislaw, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director...

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On 10 July 2023, the European Commission adopted its adequacy decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. The decision concludes that the United States ensures an adequate level of protection – comparable to that of the European Union – for personal data transferred from the EU to US companies under the new framework. On the basis of the new adequacy decision, personal data can flow safely from the EU to US companies participating in the Framework, without having to...

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The latest Standard Eurobarometer survey conducted in June 2023 and published today shows that EU citizens continue to back overwhelmingly the energy transition and to expect massive investment in renewables. They continue to widely approve measures taken by the EU to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. They also support stronger EU defence cooperation and increased defence spending. While inflation remains a major concern, perceptions of the economic situation and economic expectations are improving. A majority of Europeans believe that NextGenerationEU,...

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The Council today adopted a new regulation that strengthens sustainability rules for batteries and waste batteries. The regulation will regulate the entire life cycle of batteries – from production to reuse and recycling – and ensure that they are safe, sustainable and competitive. Batteries are key to the decarbonisation process and the EU's shift towards zero-emission modes of transport. At the same time end-of-life batteries contain many valuable resources and we must be able to reuse those critical raw materials...

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Europeans invited to express preferences on shortlisted themes in public survey open until 31 August 2023 ECB’s Governing Council expected to choose future theme by 2024, and final designs in 2026 The European Central Bank (ECB) is asking European citizens about their views on the proposed themes for the next series of euro banknotes. From 10 July until 31 August 2023 everybody in the euro area can respond to a survey on the ECB’s website. In addition, to ensure opinions...

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