We wish the United States a happy 237th birthday, as Americans celebrate Independence Day on July 4. From its start, the United States was among the EU's staunchest proponents, and on August 11, 1952, the U.S. became the first non-member country to provide international recognition to the European Coal and Steel Community, the precursor to today's EU. A strong EU-U.S. partnership is crucial to building a more democratic, secure, and prosperous world. The European Union and the United States jointly represent...

Strasbourg, 2 July 2013 -- Speech by President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy at the European Parliament After the March European Council meeting, I reported to you on the broad agreement among all leaders on our strategy to bring the European Union to recovery: - restoring and maintaining financial stability; - making our economies more resilient and competitive, with structurally sound public finances (using the flexibilities in our common rules) and long-term reforms; - fighting, directly and indirectly, unemployment, and I...

Brussels, 1 July 2013 -- New funding to support businesses in the Eastern Partnership countries The European Commission has adopted today a programme to support Small and Medium Sized enterprises (SMEs) and trade opportunities in the countries of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region. “Our Eastern neighbours have been hit hard by the economic crisis. Small and medium sized enterprises can play a key role in generating jobs and economic growth because they respond quickly to opportunities created by the market. It...

On Monday 1 July Croatia will become the 28th Member State of the European Union. Croatia's accession marks another milestone in the construction of a united Europe. It also provides fresh evidence of the transformative power of the European Union: torn by conflict only two decades ago, Croatia is now a stable democracy, capable of taking on the obligations of EU membership and of adhering to EU standards. On the eve of Croatia's accession, President Barroso said: "Croatia's accession to...

The European Council today set out its position on a draft directive establishing a framework for the recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment firms. It called on the presidency to start negotiations with the European Parliament with the aim of adopting the directive at first reading before the end of the year. The proposed directive is aimed at providing national authorities with common powers and instruments to pre-empt bank crises and to resolve any financial institution in an...

The Delegation of the European Union to the United States has published a call for grant proposals to support activities that advance transatlantic cooperation through policy research and debate on issues relevant to EU-U.S. relations. The Delegation invites think tanks, public policy research centers, chambers of commerce, civil society and stakeholder organizations, media institutions and other non-profit and non-governmental organizations based in the United States to submit proposals. Grant activities can focus on a number of different topics, in particular,...

Local associations, companies, research centres, non-governmental organisations and local authorities are all showcasing what they are doing to promote sustainable energy from 24 to 28 June – EU sustainable energy week 2013. Around 20 events will take place across the UK as part of sustainable energy week. Advisors in Pitscurry will be explaining how to reduce energy costs and use renewable energy for homes and offices on 26 June, while a lunch-time seminar on 28 June in Fyvie will offer...

Following the 29 June 2012 statement by the Heads of State or Government of the euro area reaffirming the need to break the vicious loop between banks and sovereigns, the Eurogroup has worked intensively on the operational framework of the future ESM direct recapitalisation instrument. The main features of the instrument are now agreed in view of having the instrument operational once an effective Single Supervisory Mechanism is established. Moreover, in December 2012, the European Council agreed to a more integrated...