EU manufacturing possesses a number of competitive strengths that should be leveraged to promote economic growth, despite the current difficult economic environment. This is the conclusion of the two reports on industrial competitiveness released by the Commission. However to ensure that growth does not stall, the EU and Member States urgently need to address a number of areas of concern: investment, access to finance, public administration, access to foreign markets, innovation and energy prices. European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Ferdinando...

What do small and medium sized enterprises in Europe need from future EU policy? This is the core question of a consultation the Commission launched today to help upgrade the EU's Small Business Act (SBA). The SBA - a wide-ranging set of measures designed to make life easier for small companies - has already proved to be a good basis for SME policy. As it is built upon the exchange of best practices, support for internationalisation and entrepreneurship as well...

The European Council decided today to elect Donald Tusk as President of the European Council, and to appoint Federica Mogherini as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The President of the European Council is elected for the period from 1 December 2014 until 31 May 2017. The mandate of two and a half years of the President of the European Council is renewable once. Donald Tusk was also appointed President of the Euro Summit, for...

Starting today, President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker will interview each Member State's candidate for Commissioner, before taking a final decision and communicating the list of Commissioners-designate to the Council of the European Union. The purpose of these interviews will be to determine each candidate's ability to serve as a European Commissioner, particularly in light of Article 17(3) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), which states that: "The members of the Commission shall be chosen on the ground of their general competence...

Speech by Federal Rerve Chair Janet L. Yellen at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Symposium, Jackson Hole, Wyoming - August 22, 2014 In the five years since the end of the Great Recession, the economy has made considerable progress in recovering from the largest and most sustained loss of employment in the United States since the Great Depression.1 More jobs have now been created in the recovery than were lost in the downturn, with payroll employment in...

Speech by Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, Annual central bank symposium in Jackson Hole,  22 August 2014 No one in society remains untouched by a situation of high unemployment. For the unemployed themselves, it is often a tragedy which has lasting effects on their lifetime income. For those in work, it raises job insecurity and undermines social cohesion. For governments, it weighs on public finances and harms election prospects. And unemployment is at the heart of the macro dynamics...

A new strategy to improve customs risk management, together with a detailed action plan, was adopted by the Commission today. Robust customs risk management is essential to protect the safety and security of the EU and its citizens, the interests of legitimate traders and EU financial interests, while at the same time enabling the smooth flow of trade. As the volume of trade grows and the international supply chain becomes ever more complex and fast-moving, the framework for customs...

Brussels, 20 August 2014 - Tomorrow Galileo, the EU's satellite navigation programme, will send two more satellites into space, reaching a total number of 6 satellites in orbit. The lift-off will take place at the European spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana, at 14.31 CET and can be viewed via live streaming here. The launch marks another milestone for Galileo as a step towards a fully-fledged European-owned satellite navigation system. These two satellites are the first of a new...