Shocked by the slowdown? Germany’s most prominent leading indicator, the Ifo index, dropped in October to107.4 from 107.7. While the current assessment component fell 103.6, from 104.2, expectations remained almost stable. The German economy remains in good shape. The solid labour market and recovering industrial activity bode well for stable growth in the coming quarters. […]
Digital Single Market By 2015… Upload ‘Optimism’ File.
The Digital Single Market is expected to be completed by 2015. It stands as a key priority on the Lithuanian EU Presidency agenda, said Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaitė. But if there’s one thing politicians don’t understand very well, just one thing, it’s the digital world – ask Obama, or ask Merkel if you haven’t got Obama’s […]
Cloudera Partners Capgemini To Unlock Big Data Value
Capgemini, a leading consulting and technology firm is partnering Cloudera, market leader in enterprise analytic data management powered by Apache Hadoop. The partnership brings to market the combination of Cloudera’s comprehensive platform for big data management and analytics with Capgemini’s global capabilities and expertise in Business Information Management, to ensure enterprises worldwide can unlock the […]
Stronger Social Protection Urged For EU Workers. Too Late?
With glacial speed action will surely follow. EU leaders have met with trade unions and employers’ organisations (social partners) for talks on how to strengthen the social dimension of the EU and the euro area, including by better monitoring employment and social trends in future. The social partners joined European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, […]
Standard European VAT Return Proposed
A new standard VAT return, which can cut costs for EU businesses by up to €15 billion a year, has been proposed by the Commission today. The aim of this initiative is to slash red-tape for businesses, ease tax compliance and make tax administrations across the Union more efficient. Algirdas Šemeta, Commissioner for Taxation, said: “The […]
Cummins Launches Green Power System Campaign
Cummins Power Generation, a leading global manufacturer of power generation systems, has launched a new initiative to help engineers and specifiers understand how they can future-proof their facilities with low-emission power systems. The new initiative includes the launch of http://now.cumminspower.com/greenprint, a digital video channel using an ambitious “talking heads” advertising campaign. The campaign demonstrates Cummins […]
Colombia, Peru and UAE May Get Right To Visit EU Without Visas
Citizens of Colombia, Peru and the United Arab Emirates should be able to travel to the Schengen area without a visa, said the Civil Liberties Committee on Monday, amending a draft update of the EU visa regulation to this effect. The Commission’s initial proposal envisaged a visa waiver only for citizens of five Caribbean island […]
Small Investors To Get Key Facts, Say MEPs
Small investors should get a Key Information Document (KID) giving clear, comparable and complete information on any investment product before signing a binding contract, said Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee MEPs voting on a draft law on Monday. The EU investment market is worth €10 trillion, so unsuitable investment products harm the economy, as well […]
EU / Canada Conclude Trade Deal Negotiations
Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper have reached a political agreement on the key elements of a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) after months of intense negotiations between EU Trade Commissioner De Gucht and Canadian trade Minister Ed Fast. It will be the first free trade agreement between the […]
Council Approves China Investment Negotiation Mandate
Europe’s ministers, meeting at the European Foreign Affairs Council, have approved a mandate for the European Commission to start negotiating an investment agreement with China on behalf of the EU. An EU-China investment agreement will, among other things, improve the protection of EU investments in China and reduce barriers to investment in China. This will help increase […]