Category: Economy

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European Commission and European Investment Fund launch €75 million BlueInvest Fund

Ocean

The European Commission is partnering with the European Investment Fund, part of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB), to launch the BlueInvest Fund today. During the BlueInvest Day conference in Brussels, EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro and Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, launched a €75 million equity investment fund for the blue economy.

The BlueInvest Fund will be managed by the European Investment Fund and will provide financing to underlying equity funds that strategically target and support the innovative blue economy. This sector can play an important role in the transformation to a carbon-neutral economy by 2050, an ambition announced in the European Green Deal. The new programme is backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, the financial pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.

The blue economy includes economic activities related to oceans, seas and coasts. It ranges from companies in the marine environment to land-based businesses producing goods or services that contribute to the maritime economy. The blue economy harbours many promising early-stage ventures and companies – often emanating from EU-funded R&D programmes. These companies develop solutions for renewable energy, sustainable seafood, blue biotechnology, maritime IT and much more. Continue reading “European Commission and European Investment Fund launch €75 million BlueInvest Fund”

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Commission and Consumer Protection authorities urge online shops to bring information policy in line with EU law

E Shop

Today, the European Commission is publishing the results of an EU-wide screening (“sweep”) of nearly 500 e-shops selling clothing and footwear, furniture and household items, and electric appliances. This sweep was carried out by consumer protection authorities of 27 countries under the coordination of the Commission. The findings reveal that two-thirds of the screened websites do not comply with basic EU consumer rights.

Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice, said: “It is not acceptable that European consumers are not being properly informed of their rights relating to online deliveries in 2 out of 3 web shops. The EU rights, such as the right to return goods within 14 days, boost consumers’ online trust. They should not be buried in small print.”

EU Consumer Rights Directive ensures that while making an online purchase every consumer has the right to receive clear, correct and comprehensible information about delivery arrangements, withdrawal rights and the legal guarantee in case the product is faulty. Continue reading “Commission and Consumer Protection authorities urge online shops to bring information policy in line with EU law”

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ECB launches review of its monetary policy strategy

Euro

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) 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 back of slowing productivity and an ageing population, as well as the legacy of the financial crisis, have driven interest rates down, reducing the scope for the ECB and other central banks to ease monetary policy by conventional instruments in the face of adverse cyclical developments. In addition, addressing low inflation is different from the historical challenge of addressing high inflation. The threat to environmental sustainability, rapid digitalisation, globalisation and evolving financial structures have further transformed the environment in which monetary policy operates, including the dynamics of inflation.

In the light of these challenges, the Governing Council has decided to launch a review of its monetary policy strategy, in full respect of the ECB’s price stability mandate as enshrined in the Treaty. Continue reading “ECB launches review of its monetary policy strategy”