This past week, European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager traveled to Washington, DC to participate in a series of meetings on antitrust law at the American Bar Association and gave a press conference at the EU Delegation to the U.S. "In Europe, you're more than welcome to have success; if people like your product, then this is the reason you grow," the Commissioner later said in an interview with CNBC, when questioned about Facebook and its potential status as a monopoly. "The thing...

“France: economic developments and reforms, where are we heading?” Press contact: Mark Deen (mark.deen@banque-france.fr). Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very pleased and honoured to give this speech to the Economic Club of New York. The theme of my speech is “economic developments and reforms in France”. One year ago, you would probably not have suggested it. This shift tells something: France is currently going through exciting times and deserves a close scrutiny. . Before addressing the subtitle of my speech “where are we heading?”...

The Commission is targeting the most damaging unfair trade practices to grant farmers and small and medium sized businesses greater certainty and less need to manage risks over which they have little or no control. The Commission proposes today to ban the more damaging unfair trading practices in the food supply chain to ensure fairer treat­ment for small and medium sized food and farming businesses. In addition, the proposal includes effective enforcement provisions: sanctions can be imposed by national authorities...

The European Commission and the European Investment Fund (EIF) have launched a Pan-European Venture Capital Funds-of-Funds programme (VentureEU) to boost investment in innovative start-up and scale-up companies across Europe. Europe boasts a wealth of talent, world-class researchers and skilled entrepreneurs, but it can do better at turning that excellence into success stories. Access to risk capital for innovation plays a key role. Today, the Commission and the EIF are announcing six participating funds to receive EU support in their mission...

Tomorrow the Commission will bring ministers, representatives of EU countries, industry, academia and civil society representatives together to encourage cooperation in artificial intelligence, blockchain, eHealth and innovation. Discussions will focus on how the technological developments will shape the future of Europe and building a strong Digital Single Market with increased investment and digital skills is crucial.  After last year's Digital Day in Rome that triggered successful cooperation in areas such as high-performance computing, connected mobility and the digitisation of industry, the Commission is...

The European Commission is today proposing to make cross-border payments in euro cheaper across the entire EU. Under current rules, there is no difference for euro area residents or businesses if they carry out euro transactions in their own country or with another euro area Member State. Today's proposal aims to extend this benefit to people and businesses in non-euro countries. This will allow all consumers and businesses to fully reap the benefits of the Single Market when they send...

by Rich Jeanneret, Vice Chair, Northeast Region Managing Partner, EY A media outlet recently reached out to hear my thoughts on the new US tax policy’s impact on the world’s economy. As I prepared for the interview, I turned to data and recent discussions I’ve had with many Fortune 500 senior executives to validate the thesis that has been formulating in my mind since tax reform became a reality. Across the globe in the past couple of years, we have been witnessing uneven...