Latest news with #ValdisDombrovskis
Free Malaysia Today
16-07-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
EU says ‘better' to strike tariff deal fast with US
The European Commission expects the US to keep 10% baseline tariffs on EU goods, with exemptions for critical sectors. (EPA Images pic) BRUSSELS : The EU believes it is 'better' to clinch a deal fast with the US, the bloc's economy chief said today, after president Donald Trump announced a new delay. EU officials have been in painstaking negotiations with their US counterparts to stop steep levies kicking back in which could wreak havoc on Europe's economy. 'The faster we can reach the agreement, the better, because that would remove uncertainty surrounding these tariff questions and indeed we see that it is weighing on the economy and also on investment decisions of the companies,' EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said in Brussels. Although Trump on Monday signed an order formally extending a July 9 deadline to August 1, Brussels wants a deal this week. 'We have been working with this ninth of July deadline in mind, but as I outlined, as it seems, the US have now postponed in a sense this deadline to first of August, so that gives us a bit more time, but from our side we remain concentrated,' Dombrovskis added. The European Commission, conducting trade negotiations on behalf of the 27-country bloc, expects Trump to keep a 10% baseline tariff on EU goods with exemptions for critical sectors like airplanes, spirits and cosmetics, EU diplomats told AFP. The commission has been pushing for steel tariff exemptions after Trump slapped a 25% levy but the US has refused to budge on the issue. The agreement would also include a commitment to relocate part of Europe's car production, especially German, to benefit from tariff exemptions, an EU diplomat said. If the talks yield no deal, the default US tariff on imports from the EU is expected to double to 20% or even more – Trump having at one point threatened 50%.
Forbes
11-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Circularity And Europe's Competitiveness
Carmen Ene is the CEO of BNP Paribas 3 Step IT, one of Europe's leading circular technology management providers. The EU is undergoing a significant policy shift. After nearly a decade of leading global decarbonization efforts, the focus is now turning toward economic competitiveness. The goal: to make sustainable reform a driver of growth, not just a climate imperative. A changing global economic and political climate clearly drives this strategic pivot. Closer to home, however, there have also been concerns for some time that the EU Green Deal—described at its launch as "Europe's man on the moon moment"—has hindered innovation and left EU businesses at a disadvantage globally. As EU Commission vice president Valdis Dombrovskis said recently, 'We cannot hope or expect to successfully compete in a perilous world with one hand tied behind our backs.' Checks And Balances The implications of this realization are clear and pressing. If environmental reforms become too complex or costly, businesses may disengage or relocate to countries with less stringent regulations. This would weaken Europe's economic prospects, undermining investment, innovation and job creation. It would also erode its leadership in sustainability and risk a race to the bottom, where environmental standards are weakened globally in the name of competitiveness. Avoiding this outcome requires urgent reforms designed and developed in close coordination with industry. To get started, it's essential to dispel the misnomer that sustainability is inherently expensive, cumbersome and inefficient. Instead, we need fresh perspectives and policies designed to achieve the dual aims of economic prosperity and environmental sustainability. As policymakers reimagine their approach and place businesses and households at the heart of reform, we must focus on unlocking the vast potential that can actually be achieved when we get sustainability policy right: high-value employment, cutting-edge innovation, community resilience and business growth. With this in mind, the EU has launched its Competitiveness Compass, a new policy package designed to turn decarbonization into a driver of growth for European industries. This has put circularity back in the spotlight and includes a new Circular Economy Act earmarked for 2026. This new focus confirms what proponents of circularity have known for some time: that it is both a logical and fast-tracked route to sustainable prosperity. The Circular Economy Act will fit neatly alongside the simplification of sustainability reporting requirements being delivered through the EU Omnibus Package while helping to streamline Europe's transition to a circular economy by "harmonising circular economy policies across Member States, reducing regulatory fragmentation and simplifying legislation." What's Next For The EU EU officials should now focus on how the Act will help level the playing field for businesses making the transition to circularity. Many will need support with the necessary incentives to design, implement and sell circular solutions. Often these financial mechanisms already exist and are effectively deployed in other industries in the form of tax incentives, reduced VAT, low-interest loans and targeted grants. Investment will also be needed in new industries that can deliver the infrastructure to support circularity, ensuring that the use of raw materials can be optimized, products can be tracked throughout their lifetime and waste can be minimized through reuse. Europe will need new recycling facilities and capabilities at scale, as well as 'measures that incentivise the use of secondary materials in manufacturing, helping to close the loop on resource use.' A Crucial Moment For Businesses While many organizations will be feeling some short-term relief as reporting requirements relax and EU regulation becomes more business-friendly, there is still urgent work to do to ensure businesses capture the benefits of circularity. While the environmental case is well made, the economic imperative remains strong in today's global environment. Circularity can make a powerful business impact as it optimizes resources, improves financial and operational efficiency, and minimizes waste—all hallmarks of resilient, profitable businesses. A Collaborative Future Partnership and collaboration are a significant part of a working circular economy, which takes a long view of a product's life as it moves through the value chain. Streamlining suppliers and managing relationships strategically is key to avoiding fragmentation and maintaining consistency across circular initiatives. It is important to build relationships with trusted partners that can deliver end-to-end circular economy solutions throughout the business ecosystem, across multiple markets and over the long term. Partnerships like this will also help address any potential skills or capacity gaps in internal teams, supporting organizations to keep pace with this rapidly evolving field of work. Greater collaboration will also be needed within organizations. Executive leaders from procurement, IT, HR, legal and sustainability roles will need to work closely together to ensure circular solutions can be effectively implemented. For many of these functions, adopting circularity will require a systemic rethink. Take procurement for example. To fully benefit from a circular economy, organizations must rethink traditional procurement models. Letting go of asset ownership in favor of flexible usage models unlocks capital, builds resilience and integrates services like repair and refurbishment into core operations. But these can be deeply embedded practices, and teams will need support as they work through the transition. Choosing Wisely Reflecting on the past few years, perhaps Europe didn't need a dramatic "man on the moon"moment to create sustainable change. All it required were simple, actionable solutions that allow businesses to innovate, grow and reduce their impact—because when businesses are heard and supported, anything is possible. Europe's businesses are ready for this change. They already recognize the potential of well-devised sustainability initiatives to support their business growth. With Europe's Competitiveness Compass now pointing in the right direction, I'm optimistic about the future—one where prosperity and sustainability coexist and reinforce one another in a truly circular tomorrow. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Kuwait Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- Kuwait Times
EU sets conversion rate for Bulgaria's eurozone entry in 2026
BRUSSELS: European Union finance ministers completed the final steps on Tuesday for Bulgaria to become the 21st member of the eurozone from January 2026, including setting the conversation rate of the Bulgarian lev to the euro. Bulgaria will join the single currency at the start of next year at a rate of one euro to 1.95583 lev. Bulgaria now has just under six months to prepare the technical transition. EU finance ministers last month gave formal support to the Bulgaria joining the euro after positive assessments of the country's readiness from the European Commission and the European Central Bank. It was also to be endorsed by EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on June 26. Bulgaria has been striving to switch its lev to the euro since it joined the European Union in 2007. But after such a long wait, many Bulgarians have lost their initial enthusiasm, with 50% now skeptical about the euro, according to a Eurobarometer poll in May. Some Bulgarians fear the currency switch will drive up prices. Bulgaria's euro adoption will come three years after the last euro zone expansion, when Croatia joined the single currency grouping at the start of 2023. The accession of Bulgaria into the euro zone will leave only six of the 27 EU countries outside the single currency area: Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Denmark. Bulgaria's journey to joining the eurozone has had a stormy political backdrop with seven elections in three years — the last in October 2024. Its bid will be formally approved by EU finance ministers once they adopt the legal texts necessary for the historic move. '(This) is obviously a historical day for Bulgaria, so congratulations,' EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters in Brussels. 'It's also a good day, I would say, for Eurogroup and eurozone as a whole, as that strengthens and enlarges the eurozone,' he added. But recent polls show Bulgarian society remains divided on the euro, with experts attributing the skepticism largely to fears of rising prices and declining purchasing power. President Rumen Radev shocked many when he proposed holding a referendum on the matter but that was given short shrift by the Bulgarian parliament. Since June, protesters have gathered in Sofia to call for 'keeping the Bulgarian lev'. A symbolic protest camp with several tents has been set up near the presidency and the Bulgarian National Bank in the capital. Far-right opposition parties have used the issue to promote anti-EU narratives. Proponents in Bulgaria, however, insist the move will help improve the country's economy, and reinforce its ties to the West and protect against Russia's influence. 'The political benefits are becoming increasingly significant, as the protests against the euro seem to bear the mark of the Kremlin,' 43-year-old musician Veselin Dimitrov told AFP in Sofia. The green light comes as the euro has been gaining in value against the US dollar as President Donald Trump's protectionist trade policies shake trust in the US currency. Only 12 countries were part of the single currency area — including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Greece — when the first euro bills and coins were rolled out on January 1, 2002. It gradually widened with Slovenia joining in 2007, Cyprus and Malta in 2008, Slovakia in 2009, Estonia in 2011, Latvia in 2014 then Lithuania in 2015. Croatia was the last country to join in 2023, bringing the total to 20. Bulgaria wanted to adopt the euro sooner but Brussels judged its inflation was too high to meet the necessary criteria. EU states that want to join the single currency must demonstrate that their economy has converged with other eurozone countries and that they have their finances under control. The conditions include holding inflation to no more than 1.5 percentage points higher than the rate of the three best-performing EU countries. When Brussels gave its backing in June, it said Bulgaria's average inflation rate during the 12 months to April 2025 was 2.7 percent, just below the needed level. – Agencies
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
EU-US trade deal: As Donald Trump's tariff threat looms, European Union wants to strike a deal
The European Union believes 'better' to reach a trade deal with the United States, the bloc's economy chief said on Tuesday. EU officials have been locked in intense negotiations with their American counterparts in a bid to prevent steep levies from coming into force, measures that could seriously damage Europe's economy. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "The faster we can reach the agreement, the better, because that would remove uncertainty surrounding these tariff questions and indeed we see that it is weighing on the economy and also on investment decisions of the companies," EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said in Brussels on Tuesday. Although Trump signed an order on Monday formally extending the July 9 deadline to August 1, Brussels is still hoping to secure an agreement this week. "We have been working with this ninth of July deadline in mind, but as I outlined, as it seems, the US have now postponed in a sense this deadline to first of August, so that gives us a bit more time, but from our side we remain concentrated," Dombrovskis added. According to EU diplomats speaking to AFP, the European Commission, responsible for trade talks on behalf of the 27-member bloc, expects the US to retain a baseline 10% tariff on EU goods, while granting exemptions for key sectors such as aircraft, spirits and cosmetics. The Commission has been lobbying for steel tariff exemptions after Trump introduced a 25% levy, but Washington has so far refused to make any concessions. As part of the negotiations, an EU diplomat said the agreement could include a pledge to relocate a portion of European car production, particularly from Germany, to qualify for tariff exemptions. If no agreement is reached, the US could double the default tariff on EU imports to 20% or higher, as the US president previously floated the possibility of a 50% rate.
Euractiv
08-07-2025
- Business
- Euractiv
EU gives green light for Bulgaria to join euro
EU finance ministers gave the final green light on Tuesday for Bulgaria to adopt the euro on the first day of January 2026, nearly 19 years after the country joined the European Union. "We thank all institutions, partners and everyone whose efforts made this landmark moment possible. The government remains committed to a smooth and effective transition to the euro in the interest of all citizens," Bulgarian Prime minister Rossen Jeliazkov wrote on X. In adopting the legal texts necessary for the move, EU finance ministers officially set the euro at 1.95583 Bulgarian lev. "Joining the euro area is much more than just about replacing lev with euro. It is about building a brighter and more prosperous future for Bulgaria and its citizens at the heart of Europe," EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis said after the approval, adding that the common currency will bring new opportunities, investments, jobs and growth. The European Commission last month said the EU's poorest country had fulfilled the strict conditions to adopt the euro, while the European Central Bank (ECB) also gave a positive opinion. The rocky road to the euro Bulgaria's journey to joining the eurozone has had a stormy political backdrop with seven elections in three years - the last in October 2024. But recent polls show Bulgarian society remains divided on the euro, with experts attributing the scepticism largely to fears of rising prices and declining purchasing power. President Rumen Radev shocked many when he proposed holding a referendum on the matter but that was given short shrift by the Bulgarian parliament. Since June, protesters have gathered in Sofia to call for "keeping the Bulgarian lev". A symbolic protest camp with several tents has been set up near the presidency and the Bulgarian National Bank in the capital. Far-right opposition parties have used the issue to promote anti-EU narratives. Proponents in Bulgaria, however, insist the move will help improve the country's economy, and reinforce its ties to the West and protect against Russia's influence. "The political benefits are becoming increasingly significant, as the protests against the euro seem to bear the mark of the Kremlin," 43-year-old musician Veselin Dimitrov told AFP in Sofia. Euro club gets bigger The green light comes as the euro has been gaining in value against the US dollar as President Donald Trump's protectionist trade policies shake trust in the US currency. The euro was launched on 1 January 2002 with 12 countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Greece. Since then, it has expanded to include Slovenia (2007), Cyprus and Malta (2008), Slovakia (2009), Estonia (2011), Latvia (2014), Lithuania (2015) and Croatia (2023), bringing the total number of countries to 20. Bulgaria wanted to adopt the euro sooner but Brussels judged its inflation was too high to meet the necessary criteria. EU states that want to join the single currency must demonstrate that their economy has converged with other eurozone countries and that they have their finances under control. The conditions include holding inflation to no more than 1.5 percentage points higher than the rate of the three best-performing EU countries. When Brussels gave its backing in June, it said Bulgaria's average inflation rate during the 12 months to April 2025 was 2.7%, just below the needed level.
