May 28, 2020 | By Tao Zhang, Deputy Managing Director, IMF “As Prepared for Delivery” I thank Minister Annamuhammedov and Ms. Elena Panova for their kind invitation to participate in this conference. It is not accidental that this conference is taking place in Ashgabat. Turkmenistan was one of the first countries to have formally accepted all Sustainable Development Goals developed by the United Nations and has been integrating these goals into its national plans for socio-economic development. Achieving SDGs is an important...

As we celebrate the EU Single Market’s 25th anniversary, it is important to take stock of the enviable economic growth and welfare it has brought to Europe, while also acknowledging that new areas need to be prioritised so that the Single Market can remain fit for purpose in the 21st century. Furthermore, sustaining higher rates of investment and improving the business environment in complementarity to the Single Market is an integral part of the EU’s ambitious Investment Plan for Europe – widely...

The aim of this new agreement is to provide financing on favourable terms for small projects Ensuring that credit reaches entrepreneurs and young people wanting to turn their ideas into a business is the objective behind the agreement signed between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO). The EIB will provide EUR 400m to ICO, which will in turn contribute an additional EUR 400m of its own, meaning that the financing volume available to micro-enterprises (with...

Cleaner cars, more European films on streaming services and concerns about the state of rule of law were among the highlight of this week’s plenary session. New cars from 2030 onward should emit 40% less CO2 than in 2021 and at least 35% of them should be electric or hybrid, MEPs proposed on Wednesday. On Tuesday Parliament approved new EU audiovisual media services rules that will better protect children and support European productions. That same day MEPs voted in favour of cancelling €70 million in pre-accession funds to Turkey, saying...

In a joint statement the European Union and United Nations have expressed their determination to further strengthen their cooperation. "At a time of unprecedented and pressing global challenges, the United Nations and the European Union continue to engage together as positive forces for change to promote and renew full commitment to multilateralism and a rules-based global order, in line with their respective mandates, and to work closely for stability and prosperity to promote a safer and better world for...

The EU is hosting a number of flagship events in the margins of the General Assembly and EU representatives have a full agenda of high-level debates  President Jean-Claude Juncker, First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini will together with European Council President Donald Tusk attend today the opening of the 73rd UN General Assembly in New York. In the side-lines, President Juncker, accompanied by Commissioner Hahn, will also hold a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze. Yesterday, President Juncker - at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit at the United...

by Bill Rhodes, President and CEO of William R. Rhodes Global Advisors, LLC and author of Banker to the World: Lessons from the Front Lines of Global Finance Don’t be fooled. The high levels of volatility in emerging markets and sharp, sporadic pressures on a range of currencies, including those of Argentina, Mexico and Turkey, which holds elections on Sunday, are the opening salvos in a new period of mounting risks and uncertainties. The tensions and challenges in developing economies that will...