Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

Economic growth increased in Southeast Europe in the past year, and has begun to reduce high unemployment rates, according to the latest World Bank South East Europe Regular Economic Report (SEE RER), launched on September 27 in Brussels.

In line with the initiative "EU budget focused on results" and with the efforts for Better Regulation, on 27 September the Commission is taking stock of the work conducted by the High Level Group on Simplification for the beneficiaries of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds).

A staff team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Jaewoo Lee visited Colombo during September 13-23, 2016 to hold discussions on the first review of the Sri Lankan authorities’ economic program that is being supported by a three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The program aims to support the authorities’ ambitious reform agenda to put public finances on a sustainable footing and create space for its social and development program.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by James Roaf, visited Belgrade during September 19-23, 2016 to initiate discussions on the 2017 budget and discuss policy priorities of the new government. A full mission for the sixth review under Serbia’s precautionary Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF is planned for the second half of October.

Meeting in the Maltese capital of Valetta, the Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank approved more than EUR 7.3 billion of new loans for investment in strategic infrastructure, the environmental and knowledge economy as well as private sector schemes across Europe and around the world, including ground breaking new projects in Malta. 18 of these loans, worth EUR 2.8 billion will be backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments.

The Government of Papua New Guinea, the World Bank and the Australian Government have jointly launched a USD$29 million (PGK89 million) project to fund the upgrade of the East Cape Road. Work will include upgrades to 51 kilometers of the road benefiting an estimated 200,000 people.

Customs authorities across the EU seized an estimated five million more counterfeit items in 2015 than the previous year, according to new figures released today by the European Commission.

As one of the world’s largest exporters of agricultural and agri-food products, stable and predictable access to international markets is essential to Canadians.

On September 16, 2016, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV Consultation and Fourth Post-Program Monitoring with Portugal.

While fiscal consolidation was the key driver of tax reforms in the years following the global economic crisis, the main emphasis of recent tax reforms has shifted back to tax measures aimed at boosting economic growth, according to a new OECD report.