The euro - the EU single currency

Latest news about the European Union's single currency.

Structural measures to improve the resilience of EU credit institutions — 29 January 2014, 14:27 CET

The European Commission has proposed new rules to stop the biggest and most complex banks from engaging in the risky activity of proprietary trading. The new rules would also give supervisors the power to require those banks to separate certain potentially risky trading activities from their deposit-taking business if the pursuit of such activities compromises financial stability. Alongside this proposal, the Commission has adopted accompanying measures aimed at increasing transparency of certain transactions in the shadow banking sector. These measures complement the overarching reforms already undertaken to strengthen the EU financial sector.

Reporting and transparency of securities financing transactions — 29 January 2014, 14:16 CET

The European Commission has proposed new rules to stop the biggest and most complex banks from engaging in the risky activity of proprietary trading. Alongside this proposal, the Commission has adopted accompanying measures aimed at increasing transparency of certain transactions in the shadow banking sector. These measures complement the overarching reforms already undertaken to strengthen the EU financial sector.

Financial Stability Board (FSB) — 29 January 2014, 14:14 CET

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has been established to coordinate at the international level the work of national financial authorities and international standard setting bodies and to develop and promote the implementation of effective regulatory, supervisory and other financial sector policies. It brings together national authorities responsible for financial stability in significant international financial centres, international financial institutions, sector-specific international groupings of regulators and supervisors, and committees of central bank experts.

Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) — 09 January 2014, 16:10 CET

The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) will allow customers to make euro payments throughout Europe as easily, securely and efficiently as they do today within their own countries. Once SEPA has been completed, there will no longer be any distinction between national and cross-border euro payments: they will all be domestic.

Latvia 18th EU Member State to adopt the euro — 31 December 2013, 19:24 CET

Following Latvia's adoption of the euro on 1 January 2014 - the 15th anniversary of the launch of the euro in 1999 - 18 Member States and 333 million Europeans share the same currency. This is a major achievement for Latvia and for the euro area as a whole. Latvians start withdrawing euro cash and paying for their purchases in euro. This has been made possible thanks to thorough preparations ahead of the introduction of the EU's single currency.

European Banking Authority (EBA) — 13 December 2013, 12:26 CET

The European Banking Authority (EBA) is an independent EU Authority which works to ensure effective and consistent prudential regulation and supervision across the European banking sector. Its overall objectives are to maintain financial stability in the EU and to safeguard the integrity, efficiency and orderly functioning of the banking sector. The main task of the EBA is to contribute to the creation of the European Single Rulebook in banking whose objective is to provide a single set of harmonised prudential rules for financial institutions throughout the EU. The Authority also plays an important role in promoting convergence of supervisory practices and is mandated to assess risks and vulnerabilities in the EU banking sector.

Euro Students' Award — 03 October 2013, 16:43 CET

This is a competition open to all secondary school students who enjoy learning about economics and would like to know more about monetary policy issues. There are prizes to be won, as well as the opportunity to participate in the European award event at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Legislative package for banking supervision in the Eurozone — 12 September 2013, 22:05 CET

Euro-MPs on 12 September gave their green light to the EU bank supervision system which will bring some 150 of the EU's largest banks under the European Central Bank's direct oversight from September 2014.

EU roadmap for tackling the risks inherent in shadow banking — 04 September 2013, 17:05 CET

The Commission has today adopted a communication on shadow banking and proposed new rules for money market funds (MMFs). The communication, a follow-up to last year's Green Paper on Shadow Banking, summarises the work undertaken so far by the Commission and sets out possible further actions in this important area. The first of these further actions - the proposed new rules for money market funds - is unveiled today and aims to ensure that MMFs can better withstand redemption pressure in stressed market conditions by enhancing their liquidity profile and stability.

Single Resolution Mechanism for the Banking Union — 10 July 2013, 15:12 CET

The European Commission has today proposed a Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) for the Banking Union. The mechanism would complement the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) (IP/12/953) which, once operational in late 2014, will see the European Central Bank (ECB) directly supervise banks in the euro area and in other Member States which decide to join the Banking Union. The Single Resolution Mechanism would ensure that – not withstanding stronger supervision - if a bank subject to the SSM faced serious difficulties, its resolution could be managed efficiently with minimal costs to taxpayers and the real economy.

Latvia ready to adopt euro in 2014 - EC convergence report — 05 June 2013, 16:52 CET

The European Commission has published its 2013 Convergence Report on Latvia, together with a citizen's summary that briefly explains the report and the rationale behind it. The Commission concludes that Latvia has achieved a high degree of sustainable economic convergence with the euro area and proposes that the Council decide on Latvia’s adoption of the euro as from 1 January 2014.

Proposal for a Directive on Payment Accounts — 08 May 2013, 18:17 CET

The European Commission publishes today a proposal for a Directive on the transparency and comparability of payment account fees, payment account switching and access to a basic payment account. Bank accounts are now an essential part of everyday life, allowing us to make and receive payments, shop online, and pay utility bills (telephone, gas, electricity). European citizens are consequently not able to fully participate in society without a basic bank account.

European Stability Mechanism — 01 May 2013, 17:12 CET

The European Stability Mechanism is a permanent crisis resolution mechanism for the countries of the euro area. The ESM issues debt instruments in order to finance loans and other forms of financial assistance to euro area Members States. The decision leading to the creation of the ESM was taken by the European Council in December 2010. The euro area Member States signed an intergovernmental treaty establishing the ESM on 2 February 2012. The ESM was inaugurated on 8 October 2012.

Next steps towards a deep and genuine Economic and Monetary Union — 21 March 2013, 01:02 CET

The European Commission has presented two new Communications on the next steps towards a deep and genuine Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The aim is to strengthen economic policy coordination and integration in the euro area. The Commission says these Communications follow commitments made in its 'Blueprint for a Deep and Genuine Economic and Monetary Union' last November, and respond to calls from the European Council to take work forward on these two fronts. The Communication on the ex-ante coordination of plans for major economic policy reforms contains options on how to organise EU-level discussions on large-scale economic policy reforms in the Member States before final decisions are taken at national level. The reasoning behind this is to properly take into account any positive or negative spillovers of the reforms on other euro area countries early on in the decision-making process. The Communication on a Convergence and Competitiveness Instrument (CCI) sets out options for two instruments: contractual arrangements for Member States to undertake specific reforms and financial support to help Member States implement these reforms. These two new instruments complement the structures that already exist for the surveillance of budgetary and economic policy at EU level, which have been enhanced through the European Semester, Six Pack and Two Pack reforms.

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.

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.

Basic banking services for all - guide — 04 July 2012, 18:45 CET

Basic banking services should be a legal right for the 10 per cent of EU citizens who currently have none, including homeless people, people on very low incomes, students, and people with no credit record and expatriate workers, the European Parliament said on 4 July. MEPs called on the European Commission to table legislation by January 2013 to tackle this financial exclusion.

Regulatory Capital — 07 June 2012, 17:35 CET

EU rules on capital requirements for credit institutions and investment firms aim to put in place a comprehensive and risk-sensitive framework and to foster enhanced risk management amongst financial institutions. Legislation in force (CRD I, CRD II and CRD III packages) - New proposals (CRD IV package)

Bank recovery and resolution proposal - guide — 06 June 2012, 15:06 CET

The European Commission has adopted proposals for EU-wide rules for bank recovery and resolution. These are aimed at ensuring that in future authorities will have the means to intervene decisively both before problems occur and early on in the process if they do. Furthermore, if the financial situation of a bank deteriorates beyond repair, the proposal ensures that a bank's critical functions can be rescued while the costs of restructuring and resolving failing banks fall upon the bank's owners and creditors and not on taxpayers.

TorFX: Company profile — 26 April 2012, 16:35 CET

TorFX is a leading provider of foreign exchange services, offering competitive currency exchange rates for international money transfers and an unrivalled personal service to private individuals and companies with a foreign currency exchange requirement. The company prides itself on its ability to save its customers money.

Green Paper on Shadow Banking - guide — 19 March 2012, 23:32 CET

As part of the EU's banking reforms in response to the financial crisis, the European Commission has turned its attention to the growing area of non-bank credit activity, or so-called "shadow banking", which has so far not been a prime focus of prudential regulation and supervision. It acknowledges that shadow banking performs important functions in the financial system. For example it creates additional sources of funding and offers investors alternatives to bank deposits. But it asserts that it can also pose potential threats to long-term financial stability because unknown sources of risk accumulate in the financial sector and there are potential spill-over effects from the shadow banking sector to the regular banking sector. In response to invitations by the G20 in Seoul in 2010 and in Cannes in 2011, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) is in the process of developing recommendations on the oversight and regulation of these entities and activities. With today's consultation in the form of a Green Paper, the Commission is participating actively in the ongoing FSB work.

Step-by-step guide to using TorFX — 28 December 2011, 13:03 CET

Guidance on how to use TorFX, the EUbusiness.com partner for providing foreign exchange services.

Buying property in Europe — 28 December 2011, 13:03 CET

The past six months have seen extreme volatility in the currency markets. TorFX assists their clients with timing the execution of their trades.

Euro indicators — 28 December 2011, 13:02 CET

Statistics for Economic and Monetary Union (euro-zone) and European Union (EU-15) from Eurostat

Euro facts and figures — 28 December 2011, 13:02 CET

Euro-zone countries share a common European currency, the euro. They have locked the exchange rates of their national currencies to the euro, and share a single interest rate.