Blog post by Piero Cipollone | Freedom lies at the heart of the European Union’s principles. Every EU citizen is free to live, work, study and do business in any EU Member State. The euro plays a key role in making this possible. We can use it to buy or sell goods and services anywhere in the euro area. In providing euro banknotes, the European Central Bank (ECB) plays a crucial role in upholding these freedoms. Most Europeans want to have...

Remarks by Kristalina Georgieva, IMF Managing Director, to the Eurogroup on a Strategy for European Competitiveness, Luxembourg As prepared for delivery Thank you, Paschal, for your kind invitation to address ministers today on industrial policy, as part of your broader deliberations on competitiveness. Last year, when I spoke here about the European capital market union, I started by saying it was a topic close to my heart, one we at the IMF deeply cared about. This year, a different tone: industrial policy...

The Commission is today providing policy guidance to Member States under the 2024 European Semester Spring Package to build a robust and future-proof economy that secures competitiveness, resilience and long-term prosperity for all, while maintaining sound public finances, in the face of a challenging geopolitical environment. The EU is determined to take further steps to enhance its long-term competitiveness, prosperity and leadership on the global stage and to strengthen its open strategic autonomy. While the EU and its Member States have strong assets...

The Commission has today proposed an annual EU budget of €199.7 billion for 2025. The budget will be complemented by an estimated €72 billion of disbursements under NextGenerationEU. This substantial financial envelope will support the EU in meeting its political priorities while integrating the changes agreed in the mid-term revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) in February 2024. The draft budget 2025 directs funds to where they can make the greatest difference, in cooperation and in line with the needs of...

Blog post by Era Dabla-Norris, Ruud de Mooij | New generative-AI technologies hold immense potential for boosting productivity and improving the delivery of public services, but the sheer speed and scale of the transformation also raise concerns about job losses and greater inequality. Given uncertainty over the future of AI, governments should take an agile approach that prepares them for highly disruptive scenarios. A new IMF paper argues that fiscal policy has a major role to play in supporting a more equal distribution of...

Blog post by Maarten G.A. Daman | Many people appreciate privacy when paying, and want their data protected. Current electronic means of payment are not optimal in this regard. We are designing the digital euro to be the most private electronic payment option. The ECB Blog explains. Paying is a private affair for many people. The idea that tech companies, banks, governments or employers might track payments is not particularly appealing. Cash provides a solution to avoid such tracing, but...

Today the Council adopted a revised regulation regarding EU guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T). The new law aims to build a reliable, seamless, and high-quality transport network that ensures sustainable connectivity across Europe without physical interruptions, bottlenecks, and missing links. The TEN-T network is a key instrument of the EU’s transport policy with a huge contribution to our sustainable mobility objectives, as well as to economic, social, and territorial cohesion. The adoption of the revised...

Blog post by Piero Cipollone | For the last quarter of a century, the euro has been a key global currency, second only to the dollar. It has demonstrated its resilience despite the coronavirus pandemic, Russia’s war in Ukraine and the tragic conflict in the Middle East. The euro’s estimated share of international currency use stands at over 19 per cent, a level that has remained broadly stable over the past five years. Nevertheless, the currency’s place on the global...