About: Valdis Dombrovskis
Dombrovskis: China’s Lithuania blockade hits other EU exports
EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis warned that a Chinese blockade of Lithuania's exports over a dispute about Taiwan was increasingly affecting firms from other EU countries, in an interview published Friday (24 December).
EU’s international procurement law one step closer to completion
Half a year after EU member state agreed their common position and nine years after the Commission first proposed it, the European Parliament voted its negotiating stance on an instrument aimed at ensuring access of European companies to public procurement markets outside the EU.
With geopolitics in mind, EU Commission presents new tool to deter trade wars
The European Commission proposed a powerful new trade instrument on Wednesday (8 December) that would give it more power to impose sanctions on third countries.
Basel III: Member states see national financial stability at risk
Member states with a significant presence of foreign banks fear that the EU Commission’s proposal to implement the Basel III agreement sacrifices their national financial stability to integrate the EU’s banking sector.
Brussels relaunches EU fiscal reform, aims to boost green investments
The European Commission on Tuesday (19 October) took another step towards reforming the EU’s much-discussed fiscal rules, including the bloc's strict debt and deficit limits enshrined in the Stability and Growth Pact.
Life after COVID: EU re-thinks budget rules for new era
So often the source of rows between its members, the European Union starts reviewing its rules for national budgets to fit a post-pandemic reality of higher public debt and the huge costs of transitioning to a zero-emissions economy.
Brussels seeks ‘international coalition’ on trade in green goods
The European Commission will convene a ministerial meeting next year to promote trade as a way of reaching climate and environmental objectives in what could be the first step towards the creation of a “climate club” called for by Germany....
US Senators call for ‘full accountability’ in World Bank data controversy
The top Democrat and Republican on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee have urged President Joe Biden to “ensure full accountability” over a World Bank data-rigging controversy that has embroiled International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva. The panel’s chairman, Senator...
US to press for semiconductor relief at EU tech meeting
US President Joe Biden will use this week's inaugural technology ministerial with the European Union to push for solutions to the nagging semiconductor supply issue that has hit the American economy, officials said Monday (27 September).
GAFA targeted by both the US and EU ahead of tech and trade meeting
The United States and European Union plan to take a more unified approach to limit the growing market power of Big Tech companies, according to a leaked draft memo. The move will be among announcements on tech, climate, trade and...
EU agrifood sector rejoices at five-year trade truce with US
Agri-food stakeholders and policymakers have welcomed the extension of the retaliatory tariff reprieve with the United States for another five years, as well as the steps taken to end the civil aircraft dispute that has disproportionately affected the sector.
Tweets of the Week: European Semester, Sound Canon, ECJ Hungary case
Commission unveils the European Semester, the EU is not the sound canon tester and Viktor Orban finds that he’s the court jester.
Dombrovskis: ‘We are quite satisfied with the recovery plans submitted’
The EU’s framework to coordinate national economies this year has been shaped by the recovery and resilience plans. The Commission’s executive vice-president for economy, Valdis Dombrovskis, told a group of media including EURACTIV that overall, the EU executive is satisfied with the recovery plans submitted by 23 member states.
EU hopeful of ending US aircraft dispute by July
The European Union and the United States are working to resolve a dispute over subsidies to aircraft makers and should be able to do so by July, the EU's trade chief said on Thursday (20 May) in a further sign of improving transatlantic trade ties.
Commission set to propose alternatives to COVID vaccine IP waiver
As the debate on waiving intellectual property (IP) rights on COVID vaccines heats up, the European Commission is working on an alternative proposal that it wants to submit to the World Trade Organisation, while EU lawmakers remain split on the subject.
EU, US move to end steel row and point to China
The EU and US took a step towards a post-Trump trade truce on Monday (17 May), agreeing to hold talks to end a tit-for-tat feud over steel and aluminium tariffs.
EU efforts to ratify China investment deal ‘suspended’ after sanctions
European trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Tuesday (4 May) that efforts to win approval for a proposed massive investment deal with China were effectively "suspended" after tit-for-tat sanctions were imposed by both sides.
WTO chief targets EU’s farm policy as part of global discussion on subsidies
The managing director of the World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said she wants to discuss China’s industrial subsidies but also state aid given to farmers, such as Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy, as part of efforts to improve the multilateral trading system.
Italy risks missing Recovery Plan deadline ‘due to EU concerns’
Italy risks missing the deadline for submitting a final version of its Recovery Plan to the European Commission because Brussels is not satisfied with several aspects of the drafts presented so far, two sources close to the matter said.
EU on the outs with AstraZeneca as vaccine deliveries struggle to take off
EU officials remain frustrated by the behaviour of AstraZeneca pharmaceutical, which is still struggling to deliver the expected doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Europe, and are set to use all the tools at their disposal to secure further doses for Europeans.
UK accuses EU of brinkmanship over vaccine export threat
British foreign minister Dominic Raab accused the European Commission of brinkmanship over its threat to ban exports of COVID-19 vaccines, calling for Commission head Ursula von der Leyen to explain her comments.
Seven EU countries have not yet submitted recovery plans
The European Commission reiterated on Thursday (11 March) that the remaining seven EU member states have to submit their national recovery plans by the end of April in order to access the funds.
Commission wants to keep fiscal rules suspended in 2022
The European Commission said on Wednesday (3 March) that the Stability and Growth Pact should remain suspended next year as the European economy needs additional stimulus to return to the pre-crisis level.