Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

On February 19, 2016, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with the Dominican Republic, and considered and endorsed the staff appraisal without a meeting on a lapse-of-time basis.

In response to a request from the Tunisian authorities, an IMF mission led by Mr. Amine Mati visited Tunis from February 18 to March 3, 2016, to hold discussions on a four-year arrangement under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF), expected to amount to about $2.8 billion, to support the country’s economic reform program.

Greek Finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos in ECON

A law to revamp the European Employment Services (EURES) network with an EU-wide database of job seekers and vacancies was approved by Parliament on Thursday. The aim is to help fight unemployment by better matching labour market supply and demand. Updated rules, already agreed with the Council, will also pay more attention to cross-border regions and young people.

On February 12, 2016, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with the United Kingdom.

World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, Cyril Muller, visited Bulgaria to introduce the new World Bank Director for Operations in the European Union, Arup Banerji, and to agree with the government on the partnership framework for the next six years.

Eight years after the start of the economic crisis, recovery in the European Union is still weak and uneven, with member states struggling to put their debts under control and unemployment still too high. MEPs discuss the challenges during a plenary debate on the annual cycle of economic policy coordination within the EU, on 24 February. Parliamentary committees have prepared reports calling for structural reforms that create jobs and boost productivity.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery expresses its serious concern regarding the situation of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (CPC) in Slovenia. The CPC is an important element of Slovenia’s legal and institutional anti-corruption framework and has a crucial role in the detection and investigation of foreign bribery. Therefore, the independence, resources and effectiveness of the CPC is of particular interest to the Working Group.

Lithuania needs to boost job creation and reduce labour costs in order to help more young people into work, according to a new OECD report.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Gene Leon, visited Abuja and Lagos during December 14-17 and January 10–25 to conduct the 2016 Article IV consultation. Discussions focused on assessing the economic impact of the sharp decline in oil prices and policies for addressing near-term vulnerabilities, as well as structural reforms to promote sustained inclusive growth and reduce poverty.