On February 10, 2016, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the 2015 Article IV consultation with Austria. Austria is stable and affluent. It has weathered the global financial crisis well, and output and employment have recovered to pre-crisis levels. The budget deficit has been well contained in recent years. Nevertheless, as in other countries, budget support for bank restructuring and resolution has ratcheted up public debt, which stands now at about 86 percent of GDP. Crisis...

Speech by Peter Praet, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation conference on The lender of last resort – an international perspective, Washington DC, 10 February 2016 Introduction Ladies and gentlemen, Since tensions emerged in the interbank market in August 2007, central banks have been at the forefront – and centre – of the response to the financial crisis. Such prominence is directly linked to their ability to create liquidity for the entire financial...

Commissioner Jonathan Hill and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Timothy Massad have today announced a common approach regarding requirements for central clearing counterparties (CCPs). The US and EU are home to the largest derivatives markets in the world. A common approach to the regulation and supervision of global derivatives markets is critical to supporting cross-border trade and investment and maintaining financial stability. Today's agreement will ensure that European CCPs will be able to do business in the...

Environment minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen is to open the third European Innovation Partnership (EIP) Water Conference in the Frisian provincial capital, Leeuwarden, on 10 February. The Leeuwarden conference is being held under the auspices of the Netherlands Presidency of the EU, like the Cities and Water conference that follows directly after it. The previous conferences were held in Brussels and Barcelona. The 650 participants will consider the latest developments in water-related innovation in Europe. Representatives of government, business and...

1 out of 4 internet users in the EU experienced security related problems in 2015 - Security concerns limited uptake of certain activities In the European Union (EU), the proportion of internet users having experienced certain common security issues over the internet – such as viruses affecting devices, abuse of personal information, financial losses or children accessing inappropriate websites – stood at 25% in 2015. In other words, three-quarters (75%) of internet users encountered no such online security problems in...

Speech by EU Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete at the Bruegel event "How will the Paris agreement impact EU climate and energy policies?" | Brussels, 8 February 2016> Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to be here with you today, speaking at this prestigious institution. Since its opening in 2005, Bruegel has not only become a world reference in economic policy circles; its reports and well-founded economic analyses also shape and influence political decisions and strategies at the national...

Marjolin lecture delivered by Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, at the SUERF conference organised by the Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt, 4 February 2016 Robert Marjolin was a pivotal figure in the birth of Economic and Monetary Union. When the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1956, the aims of European Economic Community were largely limited to creating a customs union and a common agricultural market. Neither was perceived to require monetary integration. It was only with the launch of the...