The European Parliament has today backed the European Commission’s proposal on co-financing the IFRS Foundation, EFRAG and the PIOB, three organisations that play a key role in the development of accounting and auditing standards.  Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier said "High-quality, international financial reporting and auditing rules are of vital importance not only for transparency, comparability and the smooth functioning of capital markets, but also for the economy at large. The support of the European Parliament to renew the...

European Parliament MEPs inserted stronger safeguards for EU citizens’ personal data that gets transferred to non-EU countries in a major overhaul of the EU’s data protection laws voted on Wednesday. The new rules aim both to give people more control over their personal data and to make it easier for firms to work across borders, by ensuring that the same rules apply in all EU member states. MEPs also increased the fines to be imposed on firms that break...

In June 2013, President Obama, European Council President Van Rompuy and European Commission President Barroso announced that the United States and the European Union (EU) would launch negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) agreement.  The T-TIP is intended to be an ambitious and comprehensive trade agreement that significantly expands trade and investment between the United States and the EU, increases economic growth, jobs, and international competitiveness, and addresses global issues of common concern.  For the full...

A fourth round of EU-US trade talks will kick off in Brussels this coming Monday, 10 March 2014. The talks will help pave the way for a future trade and investment deal, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP. Negotiators will discuss different aspects of the agreement, including: trade in services; public procurement; rules of origin; technical barriers to trade; agriculture; and customs and trade facilitation. Stakeholder outreach – Wednesday 12 March In tandem with next week's talks, the...

A fourth round of EU-US trade talks for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will kick off in Brussels this coming Monday, 10 March 2014. The talks will help pave the way for a future trade and investment deal which facilitates trade between the European Union and the United States. Negotiators will discuss a wide range of topics covering different aspects of the agreement. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht recently stated that the EU and the US now...

Press Conference on IDR | Brussels, 5 March 2014 Olli REHN, Vice-President of the European Commission and member of the Commission responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro Today, developments beyond the eastern borders of the European Union are understandably at the forefront of our minds. I also have Ukraine in mind, and in fact also in my hands, as I have been tasked to coordinate the Commission's work for supporting the financial stabilisation and economic development of Ukraine....