Good evening, It's always great to be back in America and to be here among friends: friends of Europe, friends of defence. Friends of football. The World Cup is over. And tonight we have the next big event in America: EU Defence Night! It's humbling to speak to you from the same stage as many world leaders: Konrad Adenauer, Henry Kissinger and George H. W. Bush. And Margaret Thatcher, Vaclav Havel. When Bill Clinton spoke here, he spoke here for more than an...

The European Commission took two decisions finding non-compliance by Google with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for self-preferencing its own services on Google Search, and for putting in place restrictions on businesses to direct consumers to alternative, often cheaper, purchase channels on Google Play (steering). In this regard, the Commission issued Google a fine of €460 million and a fine of €430 million respectively.   Self-preferencing on Google Search Under the DMA, gatekeepers must not treat their own services more favourably in...

The ECB Blog | Why have energy prices risen less during the Iran war than after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? This ECB Blog post compares the two episodes and explains the role of market buffers, demand and competition for LNG shipments. The wars in Ukraine and Iran have both led to significant energy shocks and, as a result, rising energy prices. Yet the two shocks differ markedly in terms of both scale and market impact. Most notably, although the disruptions to...

Corporate income tax (CIT) revenues remained at historically high levels in 2023, while corporate tax rates have broadly stablised, according to the 2026 edition of OECD Corporate Tax Statistics released today. Across 135 jurisdictions for which data is available, CIT revenues accounted for 17.3% of total tax revenues and 3.5% of GDP on average. While slightly lower than in 2022, these levels remain above pre-pandemic levels and earlier historical peaks. Corporate tax revenues continue to represent an important source of public finances, particularly...

IMF Blog post | Stronger oversight, better data, and deeper coordination are needed to safeguard faster and more interconnected markets Artificial intelligence is reshaping how financial firms price risk, allocate credit, and respond to stress. It is increasingly embedded in the decision‑making architecture of the financial system. For central banks and financial supervisors, the key challenge is ensuring that AI is governed in ways that reinforce, rather than undermine, financial stability. Three priorities stand out: Strengthen oversight and governance of AI‑driven...

Today, the European Commission published guidelines to assist providers and deployers of artificial intelligence (AI) systems in meeting the AI Act's transparency obligations, which start to apply on 2 August 2026. Transparency obligations will help people recognise when they are interacting with AI or when content has been generated or altered by AI, reducing the risk of deception and manipulation. The guidelines published today clarify which providers and deployers must comply with the transparency obligations for interactive AI systems and...

The European Central Bank (ECB) has selected 36 payment service providers (PSP) from across the euro area to participate in the digital euro pilot. The pilot exercise is crucial for testing the digital euro’s technical functionality and operational processes, as well as for refining user experience. The pilot aims to support the ongoing preparatory work for the potential issuance of a digital euro, and is due to start during the second half of 2027 for a period of 12...