EIB lending was €204m and EIF guarantee commitments reached €47m In total, some 2 300 small businesses benefited from EIB Group operations supporting some 24 200 jobs in Slovakia in 2019 The European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group), comprising the European Investment Bank (EIB) and its subsidiary, the European Investment Fund (EIF), financed loans and guarantees in […]
Meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, 18 February
Agenda highlights: EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions The Council will adopt a revised list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes in the framework of new conclusions on this matter. As part of the EU’s external strategy for taxation, the list contributes to ongoing efforts to prevent tax avoidance and promote tax good governance worldwide. Economic governance review The Commission will present […]
EU-Vietnam trade deal: interview with MEP Geert Bourgeois
Geert Bourgeois, the MEP in charge of steering the agreements through Parliament, explains the economic, social and environmental benefits. Overview of what changes the EU-Vietnam trade deal would bring about The aim is to eliminate 99% of tariffs within seven years. This should result in €15 billion a year in additional exports from Vietnam to […]
First year of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement shows growth in EU exports
1 February 2020 marks the first anniversary of the entry into force of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). In the first ten months following the implementation of the agreement, EU exports to Japan went up by 6.6% compared to the same period the year before. This outperforms the growth in the past three years, which averaged […]
ECB welcomes ratification of agreement on orderly UK withdrawal from European Union
ECB regrets United Kingdom leaving European Union Central bank prepared for all contingencies, and monitoring financial market developments Banks now need to press ahead with implementation of Brexit plans The European Central Bank (ECB) expressed regret that the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union. However, the ECB welcomes the ratification of the agreement on […]
ECB launches review of its monetary policy strategy
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) today launched a review of its monetary policy strategy. The monetary policy strategy was adopted in 1998 and some of its elements were clarified in 2003. Since 2003 the euro area and the world economy have been undergoing profound structural changes. Declining trend growth, on the […]
Pet trafficking: measures against the illegal puppy business
MEPs want action to tackle the illegal trade in pets in order to better protect animals and punish rule breakers. Many pets are traded illegally across the EU generating high profit at a low risk, often providing a profitable source of income for criminal networks. To clamp down on the illegal trade in pets, the […]
COSME: Training for SME-Friendly policies in Central Purchasing Bodies (CPBs)
The purpose of this call is to conclude a Framework Partnership Agreements (FPA) for the period 2020-2022 with organisations to which specific grant agreements might be awarded in order to implement training courses. Objectives The objective of the specific actions is to strengthen the capacity of personnel working for large public buyers (i.e. CPBs) to ensure SMEs’ […]
January 2020 euro area bank lending survey
Credit standards remained broadly unchanged for both loans to enterprises and housing loans Demand for loans to enterprises declined, while demand for housing loans increased further Euro area banks use TLTRO-III liquidity largely for granting loans Credit standards – i.e. banks’ internal guidelines or loan approval criteria – remained broadly unchanged for both loans to […]