Monsieur le Président, re-bonjour. Mesdames et Messieurs les députés, Just under two weeks ago I returned from a tour around the Western Balkans. It was a memorable trip for many reasons. What struck me the most was the passion and conviction in the European Union. This gave me a renewed sense of belief and hope: that if a region, a dramatic region like the Western Balkans is so determined to reform from top to bottom in order to join our Union, then...

While the United States renegotiates NAFTA and focuses on trade law enforcement, what is the rest of the world doing on trade? WITA's second annual look at what is happening around the world of trade outside the United States. From One Belt and One Road to Brexit, the Pacific Alliance and TPP-11, the world is moving on international trade policy. The WTO currently lists 39 new bilateral and regional trade agreements under negotiation, with the U.S. party to one of...

Growth rates for the euro area and the EU beat expectations last year as the transition from economic recovery to expansion continues. The euro area and EU economies are both estimated to have grown by 2.4% in 2017, the fastest pace in a decade. This robust performance is set to continue in 2018 and 2019 with growth of 2.3% and 2.0% respectively in both the euro area and EU. Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, also in charge of...

Speech by EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström | Brussels, 29 May 2017 | Civil Society Dialogue It's my pleasure to be here with you today. I'm just going to give you a little overview of where we are on trade policy, and then to hear your questions: I want to have a dialogue. Trade and globalisation are issues very much debated these days. That is a good thing. It shows that many people care and want to be involved. It also...

When Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, Western Europe accounted for about 20% of gross world product. Five centuries later, it is still around 20-25% of world GDP, but its North American daughter has surged to another 25%. The “West”, as we loosely call it, has thus 10% of the world’s population and almost 50% of its economic wealth, quite an achievement from the abject poverty of serfdom Europe and tribal North America. The common ties between...

The European Commission today publishes its annual analysis of the economic and social situation in the Member States, including an assessment of remaining imbalances. It also publishes a report on the implementation of the Fiscal Compact, a report analysing the debt situation in Italy and a report, together with a proposal to the Council for a fine, on a case of misrepresentation of statistics in Austria. Member States are making headway in implementing the individual policy guidance they received last year...