The EU Commission has published its second report on the impact of SURE, the €100 billion instrument designed to protect jobs and incomes affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report finds that SURE has been successful in cushioning the severe socio-economic impact resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. National labour market measures supported by SURE are estimated to have reduced unemployment by almost 1.5 million people in 2020. SURE has helped to effectively contain the increase in unemployment in the beneficiary...

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Speech | 22 September 2021 | Brussels | "Check against delivery" Ladies and gentlemen, For fifty years, the EU has supported vulnerable developing countries by giving them preferential access to the EU market. This has been a shining example of how trade policy can stimulate growth, create jobs and help to eradicate poverty. By removing import duties, we have helped these countries to diversify their economies, develop sustainably and play a fuller part in the global economy. And this without harming EU industry. So,...

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Speech | 22 September 2021 | Brussels | "Check against delivery" Good afternoon, thank you Valdis for that introduction. When we look back over 5 years when Solvency II came into being, back then it was really a major change in the European rulebook for insurers, aligning prudential rules with state-of-the-art risk management practices. And Solvency II is a global leader, so we can be proud of our achievements in that regard. Because Solvency II has provided a solid base for the single...

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The European Union and the United States announced today the Global Methane Pledge, an initiative to reduce global methane emissions to be launched at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in November in Glasgow. President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged countries at the US-led Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) to join the Pledge and welcomed those that have already signaled their support. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and, according to the latest...

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1 Introduction Targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs) play a key role in preserving favourable bank financing conditions for households and firms, thereby contributing to inflation reaching the ECB’s target of 2% in the medium term. The operations are part of a broad set of complementary policy instruments, which include asset purchases, negative interest rates and forward guidance. Since their inception in 2014, TLTROs have supported the transmission of monetary policy by incentivising lending through their targeting feature and by providing a reduction...

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