The Council and the European Parliament have reached a political agreement on the instant payments proposal, which will improve the availability of instant payment options in euro to consumers and businesses in the EU and in EEA countries. The new rules will improve the strategic autonomy of the European economic and financial sector as they will help reduce any excessive reliance […]
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The European Commission clears the creation of a joint venture between Iberdrola and BP
The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the creation of a joint venture between Iberdrola, S.A. of Spain and BP, p.l.c. of the United Kingdom. The operation mainly concerns the markets for the installation, operation and maintenance of a public network of electric vehicle charging stations with fast and ultra-fast charging speeds […]
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European Central Bank moves to the next stage of the digital euro project
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to move to the next phase of the digital euro project: the preparation phase. This decision follows the completion of the investigation phase launched by the Eurosystem in October 2021 to explore possible design and distribution models for a digital euro. Based on the findings […]
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Commission endorses Spain’s €163 billion modified recovery and resilience plan
The Commission has given a positive assessment of Spain’s modified recovery and resilience plan, which includes a REPowerEU chapter. The plan is now worth €163 billion (€83 billion in loans and €80 billion in grants) and covers 111 reforms and 142 investments. Spain’s REPowerEU chapter consists of a new reform, a scaled-up investment drawing on three existing measures, and seven new investments to deliver […]
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Green transition: new EU rules to protect consumers
The Council and the Parliament have reached a provisional political agreement on the directive to empower consumers for the green transition. The proposal aims at enhancing consumers’ rights by amending the unfair commercial practices directive (UCPD) and the consumer rights directive (CRD) and adapting them for the green transition. Today’s agreement maintains the main objectives […]
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Summer 2023 Economic Forecast
The EU economy continues to grow, albeit with reduced momentum. The forecast revises growth in the EU economy down to 0.8% in 2023, from 1% projected in the Spring Forecast, and 1.4% in 2024, from 1.7%. It also revises growth in the euro area down to 0.8% in 2023 (from 1.1%) and 1.3% in 2024 […]
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EU’s Trade Defence in 2022 report
The 2022 report on the EU’s trade defence activities, adopted today, shows that the European Commission has continued to be active and assertive in defending EU producers against unfair trade practices in 2022 by robustly applying the legislation and ensuring that measures are effective. The Commission has also acted to make sure that third countries […]
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Commission steps up protection of children from unsafe toys
The Commission proposed a Toy Safety Regulation revising the current rules to protect children from potential risks in toys. Toys put on the EU market are already among the safest ones in the world. The proposed rules will further improve this protection, in particular from harmful chemicals. They also aim at reducing the high number […]
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ECB raises interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to curb inflation
Inflation continues to decline but is still expected to remain too high for too long. The Governing Council is determined to ensure that inflation returns to its 2% medium-term target in a timely manner. It therefore today decided to raise the three key ECB interest rates by 25 basis points. The rate increase today reflects […]
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