Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

The decline in Western banks’ funding to Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) accelerated in the fourth quarter of 2014, while domestic credit growth remained lackluster in much of the region, but this trend may have started to reverse in early 2015, according to the latest Vienna Initiative committee report released on June 24.

A greater and more sustained effort to deepen the integration of developing countries into the global trading system through lower trade costs and fewer barriers between countries is essential to eliminating extreme poverty, according to a joint World Bank Group and World Trade Organization report released on June 30.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Nadeem Ilahi visited Tirana during June 17-30, 2015 to conduct discussions on the fifth review of Albania’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement.

MEPs have another busy week ahead of them.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Monday completed the second review of Grenada’s economic performance under a three-year program supported by an arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). The completion of the review enables the disbursement of SDR 2 million (about US$2.8 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 6.04 million (about US$8.5 million).

An IMF team led by Mr. Eric Mottu visited Khartoum from June 14-25 to discuss economic and policy developments.

International Trade Committee MEPs on Monday paved the way for a plenary vote on the European Parliament’s draft recommendations for Transatlantic Trade and investment partnership (TTIP) negotiators, by retabling the June plenary amendments which had been referred back for reconsideration. The committee took the decision in two separate votes –one to retable the plenary amendments, and the other to retable requests for split or separate votes.

UNRWA distributes life-saving assistance to displaced civilians from Yarmouk in Yalda, Syria.

Except for the drop recorded in 2009 following the financial crisis, the value of European Union (EU) imports of goods from China has significantly increased over the last decade, from €129.2 bn in 2004 to a peak of €302.5 bn in 2014. Exports, which did not decline in 2009, have more than tripled over the period 2004-2014 to hit €164.7 bn last year. The EU trade deficit with China, continuous during the whole period, decreased between 2010 and 2013, before growing again in 2014 to -€137.7 bn.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomes the endorsement made on June 26 by the Heads of State or government at the European Council of the so-called 5 Presidents' Report on "Completing Europe's Economic and Monetary Union". Political will has now to deliver on citizens' expectations for growth and jobs, says the EESC.