Latvia has adopted the euro as its official currency and “the changeover is running smoothly and according to plan” according to the European Commission. The previous national currency – the lat – is now being phased out during a transitional two-week dual circulation period when both currencies have legal tender status. By the end of […]
SMEs Leading Big Business In Race To Full Digitalisation
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across Europe are moving much faster than their peers in larger organisations in the race to complete key digital transformation initiatives, according to research commissioned by Ricoh Europe. Almost two thirds of SMBs (64 per cent) expect to digitise their remaining physical documents within the next three years, compared to less than […]
Tsipras Meets Rehn. The Bro-mance That Never Was.
In Brussels, Alexis Tsipras, Greek MP and President of Synaspismos, met with Mr Karas and Mr Liêm Hoang Ngoc, to be briefed about the progress of the ongoing inquiry by the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament on the role of the troika in the countries under Memorandum, Tsipras said: “We came […]
Consistent EU Foreign Policy Demanded On International Day of Human Rights
On International Human Rights’ Day, civil society networks Alop, Cifca, Grupo Sur, Oidhaco and Protection International urged the European Union to make respect for human rights the guiding principle in its trade relations with Latin America. The European Parliament ratified trade agreements with Colombia, Peru and Central America in December 2012. This caused deep […]
Coelho, “Saving Border Lives Should Be Mandatory”
The tragedy off the coast of Lampedusa on 3 October when hundreds of refugees drowned sparked calls for a more humane approach to migration in Europe to prevent the Mediterranean becoming the “graveyard of Europe”. To achieve this, the rules for search and rescue missions conducted by Frontex, the EU’s agency for external border security, […]
Single EU Patent Protection Agreed
European Union Justice Ministers have reached agreement in record time on a European Commission proposal (IP/13/750) to complete the legal framework for Europe-wide patent protection. The proposal will update EU rules on the jurisdiction of courts and recognition of judgments and pave the way for a specialised European patent court – the Unified Patent Court – […]
Bah! Humbug! German New Orders Disappoint
Still zig-zagging. Festive cheer is lacking as new figures show German new orders disappointed in October, dropping by 2.2% MoM, from a 3.1% increase in September. On the year, new orders are still up by 1.9%. The drop was broadly driven by weaker foreign and domestic demand. German new orders have been on a zig-zag […]
Capgemini and Pivotal Announce Next Generation Big Data Partnership
Consulting, outsourcing and technology firm, Capgemini, and big data software company, Pivotal, announced today a new strategic partnership combining Capgemini’s business solutions expertise for big data and analytics with Pivotal’s market leading data platform technologies to deliver solutions for today’s increasingly data rich world. Capgemini and Pivotal are co-innovating around big data and analytics to address […]
Portugal Gets ‘Team Tajani’ Investment Promotion
Antonio Tajani, European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, was in Portugal, Friday, for a Mission for Growth with 800 entrepreneurs from Portugal, Europe and third countries. Tajani met the President of Portugal, Aníbal Cavaco Silva to address the economic crisis and discuss the need for growth policies to boost domestic demand and increase industrial competitiveness. […]
MEPs To Ban Non-EU Firms From EU Public Procurement, Unless There’s Reciprocation
A draft law that could bar non-EU firms from bidding for public procurement contracts in the EU unless their home countries allow EU firms reciprocal access to their public procurement markets was endorsed by the International Trade Committee on Thursday. The proposed “international public procurement instrument” should strengthen the EU’s hand in trade talks and […]