Finance and Monetary Affairs in the EU

Latest news on economic and monetary affairs in the European Union.

Triple crisis result of artificial integration — 29 January 2013, 17:04 CET

The European crisis has unfolded in three stages. It started when the Great Recession set in. Soon afterwards, a political crisis broke out. Politicians failed to address the underlying causes of the recession. Now these economic and political setbacks have triggered the crisis of European unity.

Economic mayhem and the 2009 European elections — 29 January 2013, 17:04 CET

At a time of financial turmoil, electing 700-odd representatives to the European Parliament in Strasbourg this June may seem somewhat of a sideshow.

Greece: 400-year-old deal obsolete? — 29 January 2013, 17:03 CET

On May 15, word got out that Greece will go to the polls again on June 17. The left-wing, anti-austerity bloc has a fair chance of victory. Potentially, this could lead to the demise of Greece's place in the eurozone whereas Spain, Portugal, and Ireland may be next.

Economy — 16 January 2013, 20:34 CET

Grants in the area of economic and financial affairs

New rules on credit rating agencies (CRAs) — 16 January 2013, 17:08 CET

New rules on when and how credit rating agencies may rate state debts and private firms' financial health were approved by the European Parliament on 16 January. They will allow agencies to issue unsolicited sovereign debt ratings only on set dates, and enable private investors to sue them for negligence. Agencies' shareholdings in rated firms will be capped, to reduce conflicts of interest.

Cooperation - EuropeAid — 13 January 2013, 22:18 CET

Europe Aid Development and Cooperation. Grants are direct financial contributions from the EU budget or from the European Development Fund.

Enhanced administrative cooperation in the field of (direct) taxation — 18 December 2012, 00:11 CET

On 6th December 2012 the European Commission adopted a Regulation laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Directive 2011/16/EU (Commission Implementing Regulation 1156/2012). It includes various provisions on the standard forms and means of communication that Member States will use when exchanging information. The national laws, regulations and administrative provisions transposing the Directive will enter into force on 1.1.2013, with the exception of the provisions relating to automatic exchange of information which will enter into force on 1.1.2015. Council Directive 2011/16/EU is based on a proposal presented by, the European Commission on 2 February 2009 to replace Council Directive 77/799/EEC concerning mutual assistance by the competent authorities of Member States in the field of direct taxation and taxation of insurance premiums (COM(2009)29 final pdfand the press release IP/09/201 Choose translations of the previous link). The ECOFIN Council of 15th February 2011 formally adopted the new Council Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation and repealing Directive 77/799/EEC. The Directive was published in the Official Journal on 11 March 2011 (Council Directive 2011/16/EU and the press release).

European Insolvency Law — 13 December 2012, 19:21 CET

European Insolvency Law is laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1346/2000 on insolvency proceedings (the "Insolvency Regulation"), which has applied since 31 May 2002. The Regulation contains rules on jurisdiction, recognition and applicable law and provides for the coordination of insolvency proceedings opened in several EU Member States. The Regulation applies whenever the debtor has assets or creditors in more than one Member State.

Tax evasion and avoidance — 06 December 2012, 18:31 CET

The European Commission has presented an Action Plan for a more effective EU response to tax evasion and avoidance. It sets out a comprehensive set of measures, for now and for the future, to help Member States protect their tax bases and recapture billions of euros legitimately due.

2013 Annual Growth Survey — 29 November 2012, 00:25 CET

The European Commission on 28 November adopted the 2013 Annual Growth Survey (AGS), setting out five priorities designed to guide Member States through the crisis to renewed growth. The AGS kick-starts the European Semester for economic policy coordination, which ensures Member States align their budgetary and economic plans with the Stability and Growth Pact and the Europe 2020 strategy.

Blueprint for a deep and genuine Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) — 29 November 2012, 01:15 CET

The European Commission adopted on 28 November a Blueprint for a deep and genuine Economic and Monetary Union, which provides a vision for a strong and stable architecture in the financial, fiscal, economic and political domains.

Rating Agencies - EU single market — 28 November 2012, 00:02 CET

European Commission website on EU policies regarding credit rating agencies, including fines imposed to credit rating agencies by the European Securities and Markets Authority, recognition of the legal and supervisory framework of the US, Canada and Australia, information on regulatory technical standards on credit rating agencies (CRAs)

Annual report of the European Court of Auditors 2011 — 06 November 2012, 17:21 CET

The 2011 accounts present fairly the financial position of the European Union and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year. Revenue and commitments were free from material error. However, payments were affected by material error, with an estimated error rate of 3.9% for the EU budget as a whole. The level of error remained similar to 2010 when it was 3.7%. In 2011 the EU spent € 129.4 billion, with around 80% on agriculture and cohesion policies where the task of implementing the EU budget is shared by the Commission and EU Member States. The ECA found too many cases of EU money not hitting the target or being used sub-optimally. Member States and Commission control systems examined were only partially effective in ensuring the regularity of payments. Control systems are not realising their full potential to prevent or detect and correct errors. There needs to be a greater degree of commitment on the part of national authorities to the management and control of EU money. The error rate estimated by the ECA for spending in rural development, environment, fisheries and health policy group (the most error prone spending area) was 7.7 %. The estimated error rate for policy group regional policy, energy and transport remained high at 6.0 %. For many years, the ECA has called for simpler spending schemes with clearer objectives, easier to measure results and more cost-effective control arrangements. The ECA’s recommendations come at a time when legislative proposals for the better management of EU money are being discussed.

European leaders seek Asian support on debt crisis — 05 November 2012, 11:38 CET

European leaders flew to impoverished Laos Monday on a mission to reassure Asia they are finally getting a grip on the eurozone debt crisis during a major summit in the tiny landlocked nation.

Reform of the EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences — 31 October 2012, 23:44 CET

The EU has issued a revised import preference scheme - known as the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) - for developing countries most in need which will take effect from 1 January 2014. Following agreement with the Council and European Parliament, today's publication contains the specific tariff preferences granted under the GSP in the form of reduced or zero tariff rates and the final criteria for which developing countries will benefit. The new scheme will be focused on fewer beneficiaries (89 countries) to ensure more impact on countries most in need. At the same time, more support is to be provided to countries which the EU sees as serious about implementing international human rights, labour rights and environment and good governance conventions.

Improved access to EU funds for European businesses, towns, regions and scientists: rules of application for the New Financial Regulation — 30 October 2012, 17:53 CET

Following the recent entry into force of the new Financial Regulation the European Commission has adopted new detailed Rules of application. The delivery of EU funds to businesses, NGOs, researchers, students, municipalities and other recipients will be improved as of 1 January 2013 thanks to simplified procedures. The new legislation increases transparency and introduces higher accountability for anyone dealing with EU finances. It includes wider possibilities to use lump sums and flat rates for smaller amounts, eliminates the need to fill in the same details every time you apply for EU funds and introduces on-line applications as well as many other new features.

Enhanced Cooperation on Financial Transaction Tax — 23 October 2012, 17:38 CET

In September 2011, the European Commission tabled a proposal for a Directive on a financial transaction tax. The essence of this proposal was that a low-rate, wide-base tax would be applied on all financial transactions with any economic link to the EU. The estimated revenue yield was EUR 57 billion. Following intense discussions for 9 months on this proposal, EU Member States concluded that they would not be able to agree upon it unanimously within a reasonable period. Nonetheless, a significant number of Member States were still eager to have a common FTT. Therefore, 10 Member States formally requested to proceed through enhanced cooperation. They wrote to the Commission, asking for a Decision to be submitted to ECOFIN to enable them to move ahead as a smaller group. Today's Commission proposal for a Decision authorising enhanced cooperation for a financial transaction tax responds to this request.

Eurozone to launch ESM rescue fund — 08 October 2012, 12:12 CET

The eurozone finally gets its 500 billion euro rescue fund on Monday when finance ministers meet amid growing uncertainty over Greece's tortuous debt bailout and whether Spain will need help in turn.

Cyber Europe 2012 — 04 October 2012, 16:33 CET

Hundreds of cyber security experts from across the EU are testing their readiness to combat cyber-attacks in a day-long simulation across Europe today. In Cyber Europe 2012, 400 experts from major financial institutions, telecoms companies, internet service providers and local and national governments across Europe are facing more than 1200 separate cyber incidents (including more than 30 000 emails) during a simulated distributed denial of service (DDoS) campaign. The exercise is testing how they would respond and co-operate in the event of sustained attacks against the public websites and computer systems of major European banks. If real, such an attack would cause massive disruption for millions of citizens and businesses across Europe, and millions of euros of damage to the EU economy.

New proposals on capital requirements (CRD IV Package) — 01 October 2012, 16:19 CET

On 20 July 2011, the Commission adopted a legislative package to strengthen the regulation of the banking sector. The proposal replaces the current Capital Requirements Directives (2006/48 and 2006/49) with a Directive and a Regulation and constitutes another major step towards creating a sounder and safer financial system. The directive governs the access to deposit-taking activities while the regulation establishes the prudential requirements institutions need to respect.

Consumers left stranded: self-serving financial commissions survive EU vote — 27 September 2012, 22:46 CET

Yesterday, the European Parliament's Economic Affairs committee passed a vote to update a key EU law regulating investment services (the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, or MiFID).

New package for banking supervision in the Eurozone — 12 September 2012, 12:25 CET

The European Commission sees its proposals for a single supervisory mechanism (SSM) for banks in the euro area as an important step in strengthening the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). In the new single mechanism, ultimate responsibility for specific supervisory tasks related to the financial stability of all Euro area banks will lie with the European Central Bank (ECB). National supervisors will continue to play an important role in day-to-day supervision and in preparing and implementing ECB decisions. The Commission is also proposing that the European Banking Authority (EBA) develop a Single Supervisory Handbook to preserve the integrity of the single market and ensure coherence in banking supervision for all 27 EU Member States. The Commission is calling on the Council and European Parliament to adopt the proposed regulations by the end of 2012, together with the other three components of an integrated "banking union" – the single rulebook in the form of capital requirements, harmonised deposit protection schemes, and a single European recovery and resolution framework.

Access to finance — 14 August 2012, 22:27 CET

There are various sources of funding, support and advice available for business owners from a variety of UK bodies.

VAT: Commission proposes new instrument for speedy response to fraud — 01 August 2012, 19:17 CET

The European Commission on 31 July adopted a proposal for a Quick Reaction Mechanism which would enable EU Member States to respond more swiftly and efficiently to VAT fraud.

Access to finance — 28 July 2012, 12:18 CET

An overview of the sources of funding available to SMEs in Sweden.