Ladies and gentlemen, It is a pleasure to be here in Brussels and to speak in front of such a distinguished audience. For my generation of modest European architects – I was in Maastricht 25 years ago – Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa is one of those great – almost mythical – Italian figures who engaged in this “Kantian quest for European unity”. So I am honoured to give a lecture named after him. He would certainly have been very pleased that the...

The 11th edition of European Development Days opens tomorrow, 7 June, with a specific focus on investing in development. Europe's leading forum on international cooperation and development promises to be the biggest ever with some 7,000 participants expected. The event's debates, panels, and special events will provide insights into the most pressing development challenges facing the world, and various approaches to dealing with these challenges. On this occasion, President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker stressed: "Europe is the smallest continent,...

EU-China Summit: A number of important developments to the bilateral relationship and fresh impetus to a partnership that has a global impact The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, along with President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, represented the European Union at the 19th bilateral Summit between the European Union and China which took place today in Brussels. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, Federica Mogherini, Trade Commissioner, Cecilia...

Following the Commission's White Paper on the Future of Europe presented on 1 March, the Commission now sets out possible ways forward for deepening Europe's Economic and Monetary Union. Today's reflection paper builds on the Five Presidents' Report of June 2015 and is intended both to stimulate the debate on the Economic and Monetary Union and to help reach a shared vision of its future design. Paying due attention to the debates in Member States and to the views of...

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission (EC) have pledged their stronger commitment to the Circular Economy and Bioeconomy sectors in Europe through a set of actions aimed at facilitating access to finance. The announcement was made today on the occasion of the "Innovative Enterprise Week – Access to Finance for Research, Innovation and SMEs" conference taking place in Valletta and hosted by the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union. During the conference an InnovFin...

A scheme for more than 5000 wireless internet connections in public areas across the EU were agreed by Parliament and Council negotiators on Monday evening. This informal deal includes: • the creation of a single authentication system valid throughout the EU; • funds to be deployed in a “geographically balanced manner” across member states and on a “first come, first served” basis; • at Parliament’s insistence, public wireless access points (libraries, public administrations, hospitals) may be funded only if users are allowed to...

The Commission has today adopted new initiatives on school and higher education, including a proposal on graduate tracking to help Member States collect information on what graduates do after their studies. The overall aim of these initiatives is to help Member States provide high quality and inclusive education for all young people through a series of concrete actions, so they acquire the knowledge and skills needed to participate fully in society, are able to respond to new opportunities and challenges...