This interview was conducted by Ewald Pironet of Knack.be and published on 6 January. For over a year now, the European Central Bank (ECB) has been printing heaps of money, pumping it into the economy and pushing interest rates down to almost 0%. When may this policy be deemed a success? You may label that ECB policy a success if inflation, the rise in the cost of living, stays below, but close to, 2% over the medium term. That is our...

The Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) will become fully operational on 1 January 2016. The SRM implements the EU-wide Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) in the euro area. The full resolution powers of the Single Resolution Board (SRB) will also apply as of 1 January 2016 (IP/14/2784). A milestone on building the Banking Union for the Euro area is about to be reached: on 1 January 2016, the Single Resolution Mechanism will become fully operational. The SRM will bolster the...

Luxembourg presidency reached a provisional agreement with European Parliament representatives on common rules for the protection of trade secrets and confidential information of EU companies. The agreement was confirmed by the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Council on 18 December 2015. Draft directive on trade secrets Etienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economic Affairs of Luxembourg, congratulated the EU institutions for their excellent cooperation and for the successful outcome, and made the following comments: "Nowadays there is great diversity of...

On 18 December 2015, the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) endorsed an informal deal struck with the European Parliament on the first rules to strengthen the security of network and information systems across the EU. The network and information security (NIS) directive will increase cooperation between member states and lay down security obligations for operators of essential services and digital service providers. Essential services operators are active in critical sectors such as energy, transport, health and finance. Digital services cover online...

The European Commission put forward its EU Data Protection Reform in January 2012 to make Europe fit for the digital age (IP/12/46). Today, an agreement was found with the European Parliament and the Council, following final negotiations between the three institutions (so-called ‘trilogue’ meetings). More than 90% of Europeans say they want the same data protection rights across the EU – and regardless of where their data is processed: this will soon be a reality. The Reform package will put...

Cybersecurity - the best defense in one of the newest theaters of war—must respond to constantly transforming targets in order to eliminate or minimize unimaginable damage to a society’s security and infrastructure. What today is mostly the stuff of science fiction could tomorrow become reality without constant cyber vigilance. The European Union aims to keep pace with cyber vulnerabilities, and on December 7, 2015, adopted EU-wide rules affecting network and information security. The new legislation will: improve cybersecurity capabilities in...

From 30 November to 12 December, Paris hosted the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 11th session of the meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 11). On 12 December, the parties reached a new global agreement on climate change. The agreement presents a balanced outcome with an action plan to limit global warming 'well below' 2°C. Carole Dieschbourg, Environment Minister for...