February 2025
14Feb

Place-Based Policies of the European Union: Contrasts and Similarities to the US Experience

By Peter R. Berkowitz, Michael Storper & Max Herbertson The European place-based policy framework was established in the European Treaties and has a current budget of $60-70 billion per year. This paper identifies key features and directions for its future development with respect to three place-based problems: traditionally lagging regions; contemporary distressed (or left-behind regions), including those facing the structural challenges of the energy transition; the challenge of spreading prosperity faced with the uneven geography of technological clusters and routine technology-based manufacturing. We...

February 14, 2025
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January 2025
10Jan

2024 Ageing Report: Economic & Budgetary Projections for the EU Member States (2022-2070)

By European Commission This report was prepared as part of the mandate the Economic and Financial Affairs Council gave to the Economic Policy Committee (EPC) in 2021 to update and further deepen its triannual projections of age-related expenditure based on new population projections by Eurostat. The work to fulfil this mandate is performed within the EPC’s Ageing Working Group (AWG). The 2024 Ageing Report provides long-term projections for public expenditure on pensions, healthcare, long-term care and education in the European...

January 10, 2025
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October 2024
08Oct

Regulators increase scrutiny on funded reinsurance amid pension de-risking surge

The growing use of innovative “funded” or “asset-intensive” reinsurance structures by life insurance companies has attracted regulatory attention, particularly in light of the expanding pension de-risking market. These transactions, which involve transferring corporate pension scheme liabilities to life insurers, have led to an increase in reinsurance activity where both investment and longevity risks are passed to reinsurers. In its latest report, Hogan Lovells notes that while regulators recognize the strategic role of reinsurance in managing risk and capital, the rising volume of...

October 8, 2024
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September 2024
25Sep

EU. Who can expect the most healthy life years?

In 2022, the number of healthy life years at birth in the EU was 62.6 years on average, 62.8 years for women and 62.4 years for men. Life expectancy at birth for women in the EU was, on average, 5.4 years longer than that for men (83.3 years compared with 77.9 years). Healthy life years - free from activity limitations - represent 75% and 80% of the total life expectancy for women and men, respectively. Therefore, on average, men tend to spend a greater proportion...

September 25, 2024
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04Sep

In brief: EU strikes investment facilitation deal with Angola

The European Union has struck a first-ever deal with Angola to stimulate foreign investments needed to achieve sustainable development goals. The EU-Angola Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement (SIFA) aims to boost Angola’s appeal to foreign investors by making investment regulations more transparent, promoting the use of e-government for authorisations, and enhancing stakeholder involvement. Angola made up 8% of the EU’s foreign direct investment in Africa, or €21.7bn, in 2022. It invested €2.9bn in the EU in the same year, making it the country’s main trade and investment...

September 4, 2024
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August 2024
19Aug

How to solve the crisis of the pension system in the EU?

The demographic time bomb in Europe has been ticking for decades. The countries of the European Union are getting older, and people are living longer. More than a fifth of the population of the European Union is now aged 65 or over. That number is expected to grow to a third by 2050. Last year, the World Health Organization warned that in 2024, the number of people over the age of 65 will exceed the number of people under the...

August 19, 2024
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09Aug

EU allocates €43 million for Palestinian Authority salaries

The European Union (EU) has announced a €43 million contribution to assist the Palestinian Authority in paying salaries and pensions for its employees and retirees in the West Bank. According to the EU statement, this financial aid is intended to help the Palestinian Authority meet part of its obligations to its civil servants amid severe financial difficulties caused by a prolonged economic crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories. The situation is exacerbated by irregular Palestinian tax clearance payments and ongoing deductions...

August 9, 2024
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July 2024
12Jul

2024 Pension adequacy report: Current and future income adequacy in old age in the EU

By European Union  The report’s main focus is on old-age pension systems. It looks primarily at statutory pensions, incorporating the adequacy contribution of supplementary pensions where relevant. The report also looks at the role of survivors’ pensions in providing adequate old-age income for surviving spouses. In the context of its analysis of income inequalities and redistribution mechanisms, the report also considers minimum income provision for older people and how taxation affects income distribution in old age. Given the importance of services...

July 12, 2024
Adequacy, Books, Books, Reports, , , , ,
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June 2024
07Jun

Economic & Budgetary Projections for the EU Member States (2022-2070)

By Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs European Economy Institutional Papers are important reports analysing the economic situation and economic developments prepared by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, which serve to underpin economic policy-making by the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. Views expressed in unofficial documents do not necessarily represent the views of the European Commission. Get the report here

June 7, 2024
Aging, Books, Books, Reports, , , , ,
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05Jun

EU. ESAs publish final greenwashing report calling for critical scrutiny

The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) – the European Banking Authority (EBA), European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) – have called on financial institutions to deepen their critical scrutiny of sustainability related claims and improve product disclosures to combat greenwashing. Following two years of research, the trio today published their key findings and recommendations in tackling greenwashing. Key recommendations include an increase of human resources and expertise, along with increased use of tools for greater...

June 5, 2024
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