Statement by the European Commission on Swiss decision to terminate IFA negotiations The Swiss Federal Council took the decision to terminate the negotiations of the EU-Swiss Institutional Framework Agreement. We take note of this unilateral decision of the Swiss Government. We regret this decision, given the progress that has been made over the last years to make the Institutional Framework Agreement a reality. The EU-Swiss Institutional Framework Agreement was intended as the foundation to enhance and develop EU-Swiss bilateral relations for the future....

Watch the live webcast of the press conference Prospects for the world economy have brightened but the recovery is likely to remain uneven and, crucially, dependent on the effectiveness of public health measures and policy support, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook.  In many advanced economies more and more people are being vaccinated, government stimulus is helping to boost demand and businesses are adapting better to the restrictions to stop the spread of the virus. But elsewhere, including in many emerging-market...

OECD Ministers have endorsed a new initiative to promote safe international travel during the COVID-19 pandemic at the OECD’s annual Ministerial meeting in Paris. The Initiative involves a safe travel blueprint and a temporary international cross-sectoral forum for knowledge sharing. The forum will allow governments and stakeholders to share information in real time on plans and approaches facilitating travel. The blueprint promotes greater certainty, safety and security in travel as reopening takes place. It builds on existing initiatives and aims...

The Council has received formal notifications about the approval of the own resources decision from all 27 member states. National ratifications being completed, the EU can now start making available funds under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. With a financial envelope of €672.5 billion, the facility is the central part of Next Generation EU, the EU instrument for economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. After adopting the own resources decision on 14 December 2020, the EU Council completed the list of received formal notifications on 31...

Mathias Cormann took office today as the sixth Secretary-General of the OECD. Ministers and senior officials of the Organisation’s 38 Member countries and outgoing Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomed Mr Cormann in a handover ceremony at the OECD Headquarters in Paris during Part I of the two-part 2021 Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level (MCM). “I am deeply honoured and humbled by the trust and confidence you have shown in appointing me as your OECD Secretary-General. I am ambitious for the...

Today, the EU Digital COVID Certificate has reached another important milestone with the go-live of the technical system at EU level, which allows to verify certificates in a secure and privacy-friendly way. The EU certificate was proposed by the Commission to resume safe travelling this summer. It will be free of charge, secure and accessible to all. Available in digital format or on paper, it will be a proof that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, tested negative, or recovered from an...

The members of the EEA Council held a video conference on 28 May 2021 at the initiative of Mr Augusto Santos Silva, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal. The video conference was attended by Mr Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development Cooperation of Iceland, Ms Ine Eriksen Søreide, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway and Ms Dominique Hasler, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein, as well as by representatives of the European Commission and the...