Speaking at the UN General Assembly High Level Debate on Global Economic Governance today, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said that tax evasion costs the European Union 1 trillion euros every year and "the global bill is much higher. That is money that should be available to spend on education, skills, healthcare, and infrastructure investment in both developed and developing countries."  President Barroso stressed that the EU is taking common action on exchange of information, on tax havens and...

Trade talks between the European Union and the U.S. won’t undermine essential protections for health and the environment, European Commission President Jose Barroso said an event today here in New York that was co-organised by the EACCNY and Bloomberg LP. The negotiations, which Barroso said will start before this summer, will target “unnecessary costs” created by differing regulations, as well as conventional trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas. “We, on both sides, will not compromise on our high levels...

Croatia: Last Monitoring Report Concludes Country will be Ready to Join the EU The European Commission adopted its last Monitoring Report on Croatia’s preparations for joining the EU. The Commission assesses that Croatia has completed the ten priority actions identified in the previous report in October, and has shown the will and ability to fulfill all outstanding commitments in good time before accession. The Commission concludes that Croatia will be ready to join the European Union on 1 July 2013. “This...

  “Girls in ICT Day” is an annual event—marked on April 25 this year—that focuses on the need to increase the number of women employed in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. Currently, women hold just 30 percent of ICT jobs. By marking this day, the co-organizers—the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the International Telecommunications Union—aim to empower and encourage girls and young women to consider careers in ICT. Stakeholders are encouraged to organize activities that help raise visibility...

Luxembourg is convinced of the importance of the smooth and unhampered functioning of the single market, including for financial services, as well as of the necessity of sound public finances in order to foster prosperity and stability of the euro area as a whole. Luxembourg will therefore not adhere to policies that intend to renationalize elements of the single market, nor introduce criteria that are contrary to the spirit of the Treaties and detrimental to our economies. The spirit is...

With Easter fast approaching, Easter bunnies, those secular symbols of the holiday, are showing up everywhere to charm children and adults. Did you know the Easter Bunny originated in Europe? The Easter Bunny & the Tale of the Eggs From the name to the bunny, it's all German. The name Easter was first appropriated by the Christian calendar. First it was the pagan festival Ostara, celebrated on the vernal equinox, around March 21 in the Northern hemisphere. Ostara was named for...

Sanctions are a potent element in the EU's foreign and security policy toolbox and can help influence states, entities, or individuals that defy international laws and norms to modify their behavior. The EU implements all sanctions imposed by the United Nations. FACTSHEET: EU restrictive measures Sanctions are one of the EU’s tools to promote the objectives of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP): peace, democracy and the respect for the rule of law, human rights and international law. They are...

EU Member States continue to line up to join the euro area, despite the economic crisis. Latvia aims to join in January 2014, and Lithuania is also preparing to adopt the euro. For an EU Member State to become part of the euro area, it must meet five economic convergence criteria, known as the Maastricht criteria. These targets deal with price stability, sound and sustainable public finances, exchange rate stability, and long-term interest rates that remain in close proximity with...