The euro - the EU single currency

Latest news about the European Union's single currency.

EMU and the euro - guide — 28 December 2011, 13:02 CET

The euro is a resounding success, says the European Commission today. The protection provided by an international currency with a market of nearly 320 million people, supported by sound public finances and stable macroeconomic policies, is particularly welcome in these times of uncertainty and worrying increases in the prices of energy and food. But as we complete 10 years of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the Commission says we must acknowledge that there is still work to be done. The euro area’s governance and coordination of economic policies must be improved. This will involve both deepening and broadening economic surveillance arrangements to guide fiscal policy over the cycle and in the long term and, at the same time, address divergences in growth, inflation and competitiveness. We also need to better project our voice in the global arena, to reflect the euro’s weight as an international currency used well beyond its borders. Only then will the benefits of the single currency become fully apparent to the citizens of the euro area.

Italy's Tremonti to meet eurozone's Juncker Wednesday — 02 August 2011, 20:24 CET

Italian finance minister Giulio Tremonti will hold talks on Wednesday in Luxembourg with eurozone chief Jean-Claude Juncker, as pressure intensified on Rome on government bond markets.

Capital requirements directive revision - guide — 20 July 2011, 17:54 CET

Banks have been at the centre of the financial crisis the global economy is facing since 2008. Lessons have been drawn from this and mistakes of the past should not repeat themselves. This is why the European Commission has brought forward today proposals to change the behaviour of the 8000 banks that operate in Europe The overarching goal of this proposal is to strengthen the resilience of the EU banking sector while ensuring that banks continue to finance economic activity and growth.

Access to a basic payment account - guide — 19 July 2011, 00:28 CET

According to recent studies, around 30 million consumers over the age of 18 in the European Union do not have a bank account. Out of these 30 million 'unbanked' citizens, it is estimated that between 6 and 7 million do not have a bank account because they have been denied access to one. These individuals cannot currently benefit fully from the Single Market. Today's Recommendation from the European Commission on access to a basic payment account will promote financial and social inclusion for consumers across Europe. The Commission invites Member States to ensure that such accounts become available at a reasonable charge to consumers, regardless of their country of residence in the EU or their financial situation. It will assess the situation in one year's time and propose any further measures as necessary, including legislative measures.

EU set to release more loans to keep Greece afloat — 20 June 2011, 00:48 CET

Eurozone finance ministers, gathering in Luxembourg Sunday, were set to release more loans to keep Athens from default in the summer and mull the shape of a second major bailout to appease nervous markets.

Consultation on the Europe 2020 Project Bond Initiative — 25 March 2011, 13:38 CET

The principal idea behind the Europe 2020 Project Bond Initiative is to provide EU support to project companies issuing bonds to finance large-scale infrastructure projects. The purpose of the consultation is to obtain market participants' and decision makers' feedback on the chosen mechanism and its essential terms and conditions, to gauge demand for the initiative in terms of market volumes and the depth of the investor base.

Assessment of the changeover to the euro in Estonia — 22 March 2011, 17:59 CET

The Commission on 22 March 2011 adopted a Communication on the introduction of the euro in Estonia. It presents the most important aspects of the changeover to the single currency and draws some conclusions for future changeovers in other Member States. All available information confirms that the changeover in Estonia was well prepared and smoothly implemented and perceived as successful by a large majority of citizens. Pricing stability has also been a key element of the changeover with the 'Fair Pricing Agreement', whereby subscribers to the Agreement commit not to increase their prices without justification.

Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) — 22 July 2010, 13:19 CET

The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) gives advice to the European Commission on policy and regulatory issues related to banking supervision. It also promotes cooperation and convergence of supervisory practice across the European Union, especially through the development of guidelines and recommendations, addressed both to credit institutions and national supervisors. In addition, CEBS contributes to the consistent implementation of these guidelines and recommendations through trainings etc and promotes a common application of Community legislation through peer reviews and other tools. Since 2009, CEBS has been tasked to provide regular bank sector analysis and perform assessments on risks, vulnerabilities, etc on the banking sector and reports its outcomes periodically to the EU political institutions.

EU to make cross border transportation of euro cash easier — 16 July 2010, 19:33 CET

The European Commission has adopted today a proposal for an EU Regulation to lift regulatory obstacles to professional cross-border transportation of euro cash by road between euro-area Member States.

EU approves restructuring of Austrian bank BAWAG — 30 June 2010, 17:08 CET

The European Commission has authorised under EU State aid rules a €550 million capital injection provided by Austria in favour of the BAWAG bank and approved a new restructuring plan of the bank.

EU clears extension of bank support measures in 4 Member States — 30 June 2010, 17:07 CET

The European Commission has extended its authorisation under EU state aid rules until 31 December 2010 of the Dutch and Slovenian bank guarantee schemes and the Greek and Polish bank support measures.

EU approves bank support schemes in 4 Member States — 29 June 2010, 23:46 CET

The European Commission has extended, under EU state aid rules, until 31 December 2010, guarantee schemes for banks in Ireland, Spain and Denmark and a liquidity scheme in Hungary. The extended schemes feature higher premiums to be paid by the banks for the guarantees and liquidity granted by the State.

EU okays bail-out of Spain's Caja Castilla-La Mancha — 29 June 2010, 23:46 CET

The European Commission has authorised, under EU state aid rules, Spanish aid for the restructuring of Caja Castilla-La Mancha because it adequately addresses the problems that led to the bail-out of the bank in 2009 whilst avoiding undue distortions of competition.

Euro-MPs call for more EU powers in the financial sector — 22 June 2010, 23:24 CET

The European Parliament's Economic Affairs Committee passed today two resolutions, calling for legislation on remuneration in the financial service sector and on the management of cross-border banking crises.

European System of national and regional accounts in the Community — 10 June 2010, 10:13 CET

The purpose of this Regulation is to make available comparable, up-to-date and reliable information on the structure and developments in the economic situation of the Member States of the EU and their regions.

Bank Resolution Funds - briefing — 26 May 2010, 12:56 CET

The European Commission has proposed that the European Union establish an EU network of bank resolution funds to ensure that future bank failures are not at the cost of the taxpayer or destabilise the financial system. Following discussion at the forthcoming European Council, the Commission will present these ideas at the G-20 Summit in Toronto on 26-27 June 2010. Such funds would form part of a broader framework aimed at preventing a future financial crisis and strengthening the financial system. The Commission believes that a way to achieve this is by introducing requirement for Member States to establish funds according to common rules into which banks are required to pay a levy. The funds would not be used for bailing out or rescuing banks, but only to ensure that a bank's failure is managed in an orderly way and does not destabilise the financial system.

Levy on private copies may be imposed, says Advocate General — 14 May 2010, 12:03 CET

In an opinion given on 11 May 2010, Advocate General Trstenjak ruled that a levy on private copies may be imposed on digital equipment, devices and media only where it may be presumed that they are to be used for private copying.

ECB to demand loan-level information on asset bonds — 24 April 2010, 00:24 CET

The European Central Bank is to begin work on the establishment of loan-by-loan information requirements for asset-backed securities (ABSs) in the Eurosystem collateral framework.

Stability and convergence programmes (or updates): 2009-2010 — 02 April 2010, 13:19 CET

Here are the Stability and convergence programmes for all the EU Members States 2009-2010. Under the provisions of the preventive arm of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) euro-area Member States prepare annual stability programmes and other EU Member States prepare convergence programmes and submit them to the Commission and the Council normally by 1 December of each year. The aim is to ensure more rigorous budgetary discipline through surveillance and coordination of budgetary policies within the euro area and EU.

New EU-US negotiations on bank data transfers on the cards — 24 March 2010, 23:42 CET

The Commission today adopted a draft mandate for negotiating bank data transfers with the United States government under the Terrorist Financing Tracking Programme (TFTP). The Commission wants to complete an agreement this summer to limit gaps in security.

Paying with euros: new Commission recommendation — 23 March 2010, 13:28 CET

The European Commission has adopted a recommendation on the legal tender of the euro banknotes and coins. The recommendation gives useful guiding on many practical questions related to payments with euro banknotes and coins.

EU Court upholds Commission decision on State aid for banks — 10 March 2010, 01:48 CET

The EU General Court has upheld the Commission's decision which stated that the two investment funds that Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen received in1998 from the state were made available to underpin its competitive business, and hence could not be classified as State aid.

Capital Requirements Directive ('CRD IV') - public consultation — 28 February 2010, 01:19 CET

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on further possible changes to the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) aimed at strengthening the resilience of the banking sector and the financial system as a whole. The proposed changes, known as 'CRD IV', following two earlier Commission proposals amending the CRD, relate to seven specific policy areas, most of which reflect commitments made by G20 leaders at summits in London and Pittsburgh during 2009. These commitments included building high-quality capital, strengthening risk coverage, mitigating pro-cyclicality and discouraging leverage, as well as strengthening liquidity risk requirements and forward-looking provisioning for credit losses. All interested stakeholders are invited to reply to the consultation by 16 April 2010, indicating what impact the potential changes would have on their activities. The results will feed into a legislative proposal scheduled for the second half of 2010.

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs — 17 February 2010, 13:33 CET

Responsibilities, contacts and latest studies of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

ECB euro area real-time statistical database — 22 January 2010, 00:46 CET

The European Central Bank (ECB) launched a euro area Real-Time DataBase (RTDB) on 19 January. This new database contains vintages of time series for several macroeconomic and financial variables for the euro area, at the time of publication (i.e. before any revisions carried out at a later stage). It is based on time series reported in the ECB’s Monthly Bulletin since January 2001. The database is available online in the ECB’s Statistical Data Warehouse (SDW) and will be updated on a quarterly basis. The database has been constructed in the context of the Real-Time DataBase (RTDB) project that is being coordinated by the Euro Area Business Cycle Network (EABCN). An in-depth presentation of this euro area RTDB can be found in ECB Working Paper No 1145, entitled “An area-wide real-time database for the euro area”, which was published on 19 January 2010.