"Yesterday President Barroso met Chancellor Merkel for a working dinner in Berlin." 05/06/2012 They took this opportunity to discuss and prepare for the next European Council and to talk about further steps on how to enhance growth and stability in Europe. They both agree that beyond immediate actions for growth and stability, a political vision for the future of Europe is needed and that the monetary union should be supported by the creation of an economic union. Therefore they are both...

The European American Chamber of Commerce (EACC) and the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI) are pleased to announce they have exchanged memberships with one another and are planning to develop joint programs and educational seminars to the benefit of their respective members and others who use their services. IPTI is an independent, not-for-profit organization which utilizes the expertise of its world wide network of members to assist governments, taxpayers, professionals and academics in obtaining better knowledge and understanding of the...

Multi-year research effort to improve supply, efficient use, and recycling of rare earths and other critical materials to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign sources May 31, 2012, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced plans to invest up to $120 million over five years to launch a new Energy Innovation Hub, establishing a multidisciplinary and sustained effort to identify problems and develop solutions across the lifecycle of critical materials. Rare earth elements and other critical materials have unique chemical...

The financial crisis highlighted that public authorities are ill-equipped to deal with ailing banks operating in today's global markets. In order to maintain essential financial services for citizens and businesses, governments have had to inject public money into banks and issue guarantees on an unprecedented scale: between October 2008 and October 2011, the European Commission approved €4.5 trillion (equivalent to 37% of EU GDP) of state aid measures to financial institutions1. This averted massive banking failure and economic disruption,...

Siim Kallas, European Commission Vice-President responsible for transport and mobility, welcomed the efforts of the Danish Presidency and the outcome of today's Transport Council reaching a partial general approach on the initiative known as 'Connecting Europe Facility'. "The establishment of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is one of the key initiatives of the Commission in the context of the proposed package for delivering sustainable growth and jobs", said Kallas."I think this text presents a delicate balance within the Council...

The European Commission and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration have agreed to recognize each other's air cargo security regimes, eliminating the need for costly duplication of security controls.  "We are getting rid of duplication of security controls, while preserving high levels of security," said Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for transport. "This is a big step forward and it will have a major business impact. Air freight is by definition naturally urgent. Cutting out the duplication of...

As published in The Economist: May 30th 2012, 16:13 by J.S. | LONDON ONCE in a while an opinion poll throws up an insight that is very revealing; yesterday it was the Pew Global survey of European countries. Among the usual questions about attitudes to the euro and the European Union, people in eight nations (Britain, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain) were asked which country in the European Union is the hardest-working. The Greeks ignored the obvious answer...

SEC approves amendments to align FINRA rules with statutes that invalidate predispute arbitration agreements for whistleblower disputes. read on