The Chairman of the EPP Group, Joseph Daul, urges Member States to agree on a realistic long-term European budget. During a plenary debate on the 7-8 February European Council, Joseph Daul stressed that the EPP Group will vote against a reduced budget.
 

Responding to French President François Hollande's speech to the European Parliament this morning, GUE/NGL Chair Gabi Zimmer called for European action against speculation and a reversal of "toxic" austerity policy.
 

Focus on FATCA was the theme of the conference staged in Rome on 1 February by the European Banking Federation (EBF), hosted by the Italian Banking Association. 

Practitioners and experts of the European banking sector gathered with representatives of national tax administrations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development  and the European Commission to discuss the implications of implementing FATCA (Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act). 

The first up and running European Citizens Initiative (ECI) - Water is a Human Right – is more than 4/5ths of the way towards  the target of a million online signatures. And many workers and citizens are collecting paper signatures as well.  This ECI was the first to start the paper and on-line collection of signatures. It is the first initiative that has passed the ¾ threshold and likely to be the first to reach the 1 million mark.