Directorate-General For Economic And Financial Affairs (European Commission)
The Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, founded in 1958. It is located in Brussels, Belgium. Its main responsibility is to encourage the development of Economic and Monetary Union both inside and outside the European Union, by advancing economic policy coordination, conducting economic surveillance and providing policy assessment and advice. It is one of the largest Directorate-Generals in the Commission, with a staff of about 2,000 people. Policy areas The Directorate-General's policy areas include: * Economic surveillance ( euro area and EU) ** Monitoring of the economy of the euro area and of the EU ** Key indicators ** Economic forecasts (spring and autumn) ** Business and consumer surveys ** Annual Review on the EU economy ** Convergence reports * Monitoring budgetary policy and public finances ** Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) and fiscal surveillance ** Annual « Public Finan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Directorate-General
Within the European Union (EU), Directorates-General are departments with specific zones of responsibility. Within the European Commission specifically, Directorates-General are the equivalent of national-level Ministry (government department), ministries. Most are headed by a European commissioner, responsible for the general direction of the Directorate-General, and in charge of (politically responsible for) the corresponding policy area; and a director-general, responsible for the management of day-to-day affairs, who reports to the European Commissioner. Nearly all of the top-level organisational divisions of the Secretariat of the European Parliament and the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union are also termed Directorates-General. The European Patent Office (part of the European Patent Organisation, separate from the EU) also has European Patent Office#Departments and directorates-general, Directorates-General, which are administrative groupings of depar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of last resort to national governments, and a leading supporter of exchange-rate economic stability, stability. Its stated mission is "working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and poverty reduction, reduce poverty around the world." Established in July 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference, primarily according to the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, it started with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international monetary systems, international monetary system after World War II. In its early years, the IMF primarily focused on facilitating fixed exchange rates across the developed worl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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General Agreement On Tariffs And Trade
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its preamble, its purpose was the "substantial reduction of tariffs and other trade barriers and the elimination of preferences, on a reciprocal and mutually advantageous basis". The GATT was first discussed during the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment and was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization (ITO). It was signed by 23 nations in Geneva on 30 October 1947, and was applied on a provisional basis 1 January 1948. It remained in effect until 1 January 1995, when the World Trade Organization (WTO) was established after agreement by 123 nations in Marrakesh on 15 April 1994, as part of the Uruguay Round Agreements. The WTO is the successor to the GATT, and the origin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Economy Of The European Union
The economy of the European Union is the joint economy of the member states of the European Union (EU). It is the second largest economy in the world in nominal terms, after the United States, and the third largest at purchasing power parity (PPP), after China and the US. The European Union's GDP is estimated to be $19.99 trillion (nominal) in 2025 or $29.18 trillion (PPP), representing around one-sixth of the global economy. Germany, France and Italy are the three largest economies in the European Union, accounting for approximately 52.6% of the EU's total GDP. Germany contributes 24.3%, while France accounts for 16.2% and Italy for 12.1%. In 2023, the social welfare expenditure of the European Union (EU) as a whole was 26.8% of its GDP. The EU has total banking assets of more than $38 trillion, France accounts for 26% ($10 trillion) of Europe's total banking assets followed by Germany with 18% ($7 trillion) and Italy with 8% ($3 trillion). Global assets under managemen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Economic And Monetary Union Of The European Union
The economic and monetary union (EMU) of the European Union is a group of policies aimed at converging the economies of member states of the European Union at three stages. There are three stages of the EMU, each of which consists of progressively closer economic integration. Only once a state participates in the third stage it is permitted to adopt the euro as its official currency. As such, the third stage is largely synonymous with the eurozone. The euro convergence criteria are the set of requirements that needs to be fulfilled in order for a country to be approved to participate in the third stage. An important element of this is participation for a minimum of two years in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism ("ERM II"), in which candidate currencies demonstrate economic convergence by maintaining limited deviation from their target rate against the euro. The EMU policies cover all European Union member states. All new EU member states must commit to participate in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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European Commissioner For Economy
The European Commissioner for Economy is a member of the European Commission. The current Economy Commissioner is Valdis Dombrovskis. From 2014 to 2019 the post was named ''Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs''. Until 2014 the post was named ''Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud'' and was previously divided prior to 2010, with audit being under control of the Commissioner for Administrative Affairs. The post was abolished in 2014, when the Juncker Commission merged the post with that of the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Economic and Financial Affairs portfolio. The post is responsible for the European Union Customs Union, EU's customs union and taxation policy. The European Union has had a customs union since the creation of the European Economic Community and that union extends to Turkey, Andorra and San Marino. Since 2010 it gained responsibility for audit (budgetary discharge, internal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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European Coal And Steel Community
The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to integrate Europe's coal and steel industries into a single common market based on the principle of supranationalism which would be governed by the creation of a High Authority made up of appointed representatives from the member states who would not represent their national interest, but would take and make decisions in the general interests of the Community as a whole. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ..., the Netherlands, and West Germany and was generally seen as the first step in the process of European integration following the end of the Second World W ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Small And Medium Enterprise
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by many national agencies and international organizations such as the World Bank, the OECD, European Union, the United Nations, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). In any given national economy, SMEs outnumber large companies by a wide margin and also employ many more people. On a global scale, SMEs make up 90% of all companies and more than 50% of all employment. For example, in the EU, 99% of all businesses are SMEs. Australian SMEs makeup 98% of all Australian businesses, produce one-third of the total GDP (gross domestic product) and employ 4.7 million people. In Chile, in the commercial year 2014, 98.5% of the firms were classified as SMEs. In Tunisia, the self-employed workers alone account for about 28% of the total non-farm employment, and firms with fewer than 100 employees acc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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European Investment Fund
The European Investment Fund (EIF), established in 1994, is a financial institution for the provision of finance to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), headquartered in Luxembourg. It is part of the European Investment Bank Group. It does not lend money to SMEs directly; rather it provides finance through private banks and funds. Its main operations are in the areas of venture capital and guaranteeing loans. Its shareholders are: the European Investment Bank (62%); the European Union, represented by the European Commission (29%); and 30 financial institutions (9%). The European Investment Bank Group is able to assist the development of a broader creative, green ecosystem through the European Investment Fund: venture capital funds, technical transfer, business perspectives, and private-sector equity (infrastructure funds) in general. Since 2015, the EaSI Guarantee Instrument (EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation), managed by the European Investment Fund, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solutions companies and projects that achieve the policy aims of the European Union through loans, equity and guarantees. The EIB focuses on the areas of climate, environment, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), development, cohesion and infrastructure. It has played a large role in providing finance during crises including the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 60 years since its inception in 1958 to 2018 the EIB has invested over 1.1 trillion euros. It primarily funds projects that "cannot be entirely financed by the various means available in the individual Member States". The EIB is one of the biggest financiers of Sustainable finance, green finance in the world. In 2007, the EIB became the first institution in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |