The European Commission's 2022 European Semester Spring Package provides Member States with support and guidance two years on from the first impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the midst of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The Spring 2022 Economic Forecast projects the EU economy to continue growing in 2022 and 2023. However, while the EU economy continues to show resilience, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has created a new environment, exacerbating pre-existing headwinds to growth, which were previously...

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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has published a study looking at the potential reasons behind the relatively lower ongoing costs, and better performance, of environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds compared to other funds, between April 2019 and September 2021. ESMA recently determined that ESG equity undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS), excluding exchange-traded funds, were cheaper and better performers in 2019 and 2020 compared to non-ESG peers. Understanding the cost and performance dynamics...

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Today, the Commission has set out plans in a Communication for the EU's immediate response to address Ukraine's financing gap, as well as the longer-term reconstruction framework. This Communication follows from the European Council call to address the consequences of the war in Ukraine via a dedicated Europe-led effort. Immediate response and short terms needs Since the Russian aggression started, the EU has significantly stepped up its support, mobilising around €4.1 billion to support Ukraine's overall economic, social and financial resilience...

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'An international floor price for carbon could speed the world’s transition to green energy without compromising countries’ competitiveness.' Recent surges in food and fuel costs are hurting households everywhere. The global spike in energy prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underscores the need to transition away from dependence on energy sources that are subject to recurrent disruptions. The war has also impacted food security, which is already under pressure from crop failures and extreme weather events due to higher temperatures....

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Speech by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, at the 20th annual symposium on “Building the financial system of the 21st century: an agenda for Europe and the United States” organised by the Program on International Financial Systems and Harvard Law School (by videoconference) | It is with great pleasure that I am taking part in this symposium once again. It is hard to believe how much has happened since we last met two years ago. In my remarks back...

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The European Commission has today presented the REPowerEU Plan, its response to the hardships and global energy market disruption caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. There is a double urgency to transform Europe's energy system: ending the EU's dependence on Russian fossil fuels, which are used as an economic and political weapon and cost European taxpayers nearly €100 billion per year, and tackling the climate crisis. By acting as a Union, Europe can phase out its dependency on Russian...

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