In the European Union (EU), household electricity prices rose by 2.4% on average between the second half of 2014 and the second half of 2015 to reach €21.1 per 100 kWh. Since 2008, electricity prices in the EU have risen by 33%. Across the EU Member States, household electricity prices in the second half of 2015 ranged from below €10 per 100 kWh in Bulgaria to more than €30 per 100 kWh in Denmark. Full text available on EUROSTAT website Compliments...

Amsterdam, 26 May 2016 Ladies and gentlemen, Let me start by thanking you for inviting me to this first edition of the Energy Fest, hopefully the first of a long series. One of the most brilliant European minds of all times, Lenardo Da Vinci once said that "people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things". By 'happening to things', Da Vinci meant questioning axioms, challenging the common wisdom, and above all daring...

The EU Commission should go on negotiating with the USA to remedy “deficiencies” in proposed “Privacy Shield” protection for EU citizens’ data transferred to the US for commercial purposes, Parliament says in a non-legislative resolution passed on Thursday. In the resolution, passed by 501 votes to 119 with 31 abstentions, MEPs welcome the efforts of the Commission and the US administration to achieve "substantial improvements" in the Privacy Shield compared to the Safe Harbour decision which it is to replace. However,...

Brussels, 26 May 2016 Ladies and Gentlemen, I can be very brief because Donald was covering the whole landscape in Europe and in the rest of the world. I would like to comment briefly on the general economic situation. The EU's recovery continues despite a more difficult global environment. In 2015, the European growth reached 2%, in the euro area 1.7%. These figures are confirming that the recovery is on solid ground and well on track. The GDP level of the...

Consumers should be given more power in the energy market, say MEPs in a resolution on a "new energy deal for energy consumers", voted on Thursday. They recommend collective buying, household power generation, better price comparison tools for all and making it easier to switch energy providers and tariffs. In a non-binding text, intended as an input to Energy Union legislation to be tabled by the EU Commission, MEPs also call for EU funds for energy efficiency to focus...

The European Commission today tabled a package of measures to allow consumers and companies to buy and sell products and services online more easily and confidently across the EU. Delivering on its Digital Single Market and Single Market strategies, the European Commission has presented a three-pronged plan to boost e-commerce by tackling geoblocking, making cross-border parcel delivery more affordable and efficient and promoting customer trust through better protection and enforcement. Andrus Ansip, Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, said: "All too...

Europe’s financial system showed resilience in face of rising vulnerabilities stemming from emerging market economies and financial market turbulence over the past six months Economic and financial vulnerabilities persist in the form of high legacy debt, both public and private, and a weak economic recovery Euro area banking sector repair continues amid challenges to profitability and, in some countries, high stocks of non-performing loans The euro area financial system was able to absorb the strong turmoil around the turn of the year...