Finance and Monetary Affairs in the EU

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

Financial Reporting: burden reduction for micro-entities - guide — 15 December 2011, 23:34 CET

The European Parliament has voted to approve measures to considerably simplify life for more than 5 million of the smallest companies in Europe. The measures will allow these companies to benefit from a very simple system of financial reporting, which will mean they can free up resources to invest in their businesses and deliver further growth.

European Commission measures to tackle cross-border inheritance tax problems — 15 December 2011, 18:31 CET

EU citizens who inherit foreign property are frequently faced with a tax bill from more than one Member State. In fact, in extreme cases the total value of a cross-border inherited asset might even have to be paid in tax, because several Member States may claim taxing rights on the same inheritance or tax foreign inheritances more heavily than local inheritances. Citizens may be forced to sell inherited assets, just to cover the taxes, and small businesses may face transfer difficulties on the death of their owners. To tackle these problems, the Commission on 15 December 2011 adopted a comprehensive package on inheritance taxation. Through a Communication (COM/2011/864), Recommendation (C/2011/8819) and Working Paper, the Commission analyses the problems and presents solutions related to cross-border inheritance tax in the EU.

EU Economic governance "Six-Pack" - guide — 12 December 2011, 15:59 CET

On 13th December 2011, the reinforced Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) enters into force with a new set of rules for economic and fiscal surveillance. These new measures, the so-called "Six-Pack", are made of five regulations and one directive proposed by the European Commission and approved by all 27 Member States and the European Parliament last October.

EU budget proposals for its external instruments from 2014-2020 - guide — 07 December 2011, 19:30 CET

The European Commission adopted budget proposals for its external instruments from 2014-2020 on 7 December. They will allow the European Union to fulfil its responsibility on the global stage: fighting poverty and promoting democracy, peace, stability and prosperity. The range of instruments will support developing countries as well as countries in the European neighbourhood and those that are preparing accession into the EU. The Commission is seeking to target its resources where it says they are most needed, where they will have the highest impact while ensuring more flexibility to be able to react swiftly to unforeseen events. This budget will also enable the EU to further reinforce its role on the global stage and promote its interests and values.

Venture capital for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - guide — 07 December 2011, 20:16 CET

The EU Action Plan to improve access to finance for SMEs presents the various EU policies and measures to make access to finance easier for Europe's 23 million SMEs. It covers actions to improve the venture capital market and facilitate access to financial resources. It contains also financial products to ease access to bank lending, for an amount of at least € 20 billion allocated to SMEs from the new Multiannual Financial Framework. A new survey published today shows that difficult access to finance is among the top concerns (15%) of SMEs. Almost two-thirds (63%) of the EU SMEs who applied for a bank loan during the last six months received the whole amount they asked for. However, 11% of the applications were rejected and 17% received less than they applied for. In addition 4% declined the loan offer from the bank because they found the conditions unacceptable. So about one third of the SMEs did not get the finance they had planned for.

SMEs welcome EC plan on access to finance, call for tax reforms to boost venture capital — 07 December 2011, 13:29 CET

Tax systems main obstacle to uptake and provision of venture capital; “Basel III” implementation must not harm SME loans, warns UEAPME

European Commission Green Paper on the feasibility of introducing Stability Bonds - guide — 23 November 2011, 18:42 CET

The Green Paper published by the European Commission today structures the political debate in the EU on the rationale, pre-conditions and possible options of financing public debt through Stability Bonds. Such common issuance of bonds by the euro-area Member States would imply a significant deepening of Economic and Monetary Union. It would create new means through which governments finance their debt, by offering safe and liquid investment opportunities for savers and financial institutions and by setting up a euro-area wide integrated bond market that matches its US Dollar counterpart in terms of size and liquidity. The fiscal framework underlying EMU would similarly undergo a substantial change, as Stability Bonds would need to be accompanied by closer and stricter fiscal surveillance to ensure budgetary discipline. Some of the options for the design of Stability Bonds considered in the Green Paper might require a Treaty change. Regardless of any necessary time for implementation, agreement on common issuance could have an immediate impact on market expectations and thereby lower average and marginal funding costs for those Member States currently facing funding pressures.

New action for growth, governance and stability - guide — 23 November 2011, 18:28 CET

The package contains four elements: the 2012 Annual Growth Survey setting out the economic priorities for the coming year; two Regulations to tighten economic and budgetary surveillance in the euro area; and a Green Paper on Stability Bonds.

Annual Growth Survey 2012 — 23 November 2011, 18:21 CET

The key message of the 2012 Annual Growth Survey is that, faced with a deteriorating economic and social situation, more efforts are needed to put Europe back on track and sustain growth and jobs. The Survey calls for the EU and Member States to focus on five priorities: pursuing differentiated, growth-friendly fiscal consolidation; restoring normal lending to the economy; promoting growth and competitiveness; tackling unemployment and the social consequences of the crisis; and modernising public administration. The AGS includes a list of pending or future proposals aimed at boosting growth, which the Commission wants to be fast-tracked through the EU legislative process.

Budget figures for 2012 now available — 22 November 2011, 18:45 CET

The exact budget figures for 2012 are now available. They reflect the agreement reached by the European Parliament's delegation and the Council of Ministers on Friday 18 November. The Parliament's plenary vote is scheduled for 1 December.

Bank proposal on current account fee transparency - bold announcement, zero substance — 21 November 2011, 15:53 CET

BEUC, the European Consumers’ Organisation, rejects EBIC’s (European Bank Industry Committee) plans to self-regulate the transparency and comparability of current account fees as instructed by the European Commission. For a paltry number of bank account services (approx. 10), the banks propose to establish a common terminology and information.

EU legislative proposal on credit rating agencies (CRAs) - guide — 15 November 2011, 19:31 CET

Credit rating agencies (CRAs) are major players in today's financial markets, with rating actions having a direct impact on the actions of investors, borrowers, issuers and governments. For example, a corporate downgrade can have consequences on the capital a bank must hold and a downgrade of sovereign debt makes a country's borrowing more expensive. Despite the adoption of European legislation on credit rating agencies in 2009 and 2010, recent developments in the context of the euro debt crisis have shown our existing regulatory framework is not good enough. So, today the Commission has put forward proposals to toughen that framework further and deal with outstanding weaknesses.

European Economic Forecast - autumn 2011 — 10 November 2011, 12:21 CET

Since the last fully-fledged forecast in May 2011, the outlook for the EU and the euro area has deteriorated. The protracted sovereign-debt crisis has taken its toll on confidence affecting investment and consumption. The first signs of improvements for GDP are projected for the second half of 2012, however, with very limited impact on job creation.

Budget 2012 in figures — 09 November 2011, 18:31 CET

EU draft budget 2012: For 500 million Europeans in times of austerity

FISCUS programme for taxation and customs 2014-20 - guide — 09 November 2011, 14:53 CET

EU Customs and Taxation policy make a substantial contribution in helping to raise revenues for the EU and Member States' budgets every year. In addition, these policies deliver considerable benefits to EU citizens and business, whether it is through blocking unsafe or illegal imports, facilitating smooth trade and a strong Internal Market, or cutting compliance costs and red tape for cross-border companies. In order to build on this work and be fully equipped to meet future challenges in these fields, the European Commission today adopted a proposal for the FISCUS programme. With a budget of EUR 777.6 million, the programme will run for 7 years from January 1 2014.

Proposal for Directive on transparency requirements for listed companies and proposals on country by country reporting - guide — 26 October 2011, 18:02 CET

The European Commission has proposed amendments to the existing Directive on transparency requirements for listed companies and to the Directives on accounting rules for annual accounts and consolidated accounts, inter alia to introduce country by country reporting, as part of a Responsible Business Initiative package of measures.

European Parliament supports sustainable public procurement — 26 October 2011, 17:34 CET

At today's plenary session, the European Parliament adopted with an overwhelming majority a Resolution on the modernisation of public procurement. The European Parliament confirms the interpretation of the European Union rules by the European Court of Justice, which allows public authorities to compare products on the basis of how they have been produced. The Resolution also asks for clearer EU rules to integrate sustainability at each stage of the procurement process.

MiFID II - An opportunity to make Europeans' investments safer — 20 October 2011, 23:16 CET

While stock markets and banks are in disarray, Europe's consumers need stable financial markets more than ever to make secure investments. The European Commission is due to unveil an updated 'Markets in Financial Instruments Directive' (MiFID II) Thursday, October 20th. BEUC, the European Consumers' Organisation has asked legislators to make consumers' needs their theme in this initiative.

Review of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) and Proposals for a Regulation on Market Abuse and for a Directive on Criminal Sanctions for Market Abuse: guide on Emission Allowances — 20 October 2011, 16:55 CET

Drawing lessons from the 2008 financial crisis, the G20 agreed at the 2009 Pittsburgh summit on the need to improve the transparency and oversight of less regulated markets – including derivatives markets - and to address the issue of excessive price volatility in commodity derivatives markets. In response to this, the European Commission has today tabled proposals to revise the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). These proposals consist of a Directive and a Regulation and aim to make financial markets more efficient, resilient and transparent, and to strengthen the protection of investors. The new framework will also increase the supervisory powers of regulators and provide clear operating rules for all trading activities. Similar discussions are taking place in the United States and other major global financial centres.

Investment Services Directive – Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) — 20 October 2011, 16:54 CET

Commission adopts proposals for a Directive on markets in financial instruments repealing Directive 2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, and for a Regulation on markets in financial instruments and amending Regulation [EMIR] on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories

Proposals for a Regulation on Market Abuse and for a Directive on Criminal Sanctions for Market Abuse - guide — 20 October 2011, 16:36 CET

In recent years financial markets have become increasingly global, giving rise to new trading platforms and technologies. This unfortunately has also led to new possibilities to manipulate these markets. As part of its work to make financial markets more sound and transparent, the European Commission today adopted a proposal for a Regulation on insider dealing and market manipulation (i.e. market abuse). The proposal aims to update and strengthen the existing framework to ensure market integrity and investor protection provided by the Market Abuse Directive (2003/6/EC). The new framework will ensure regulation keeps pace with market developments, will strengthen the fight against market abuse across commodity and related derivative markets, reinforce the investigative and sanctioning powers of regulators and reduce administrative burdens on small and medium-sized issuers.

OLAF's 2011 Annual Operational Report — 19 October 2011, 23:08 CET

OLAF Annual Operational Report 2011 : Investigations resulted in €68 million recovered and fraudsters sentenced to 125 years' imprisonment in 2010

A pilot for Europe 2020 Project Bond Initiative - EC legislative proposal - guide — 19 October 2011, 22:56 CET

The European Commission has tabled a plan which will fund EUR 50 billion worth of investment to improve Europe's transport, energy and digital networks. The "Connecting Europe Facility" will finance projects which fill the missing links in Europe's energy, transport and digital backbone. To assist with the financing of the Connecting Europe Facility, the Commission has also adopted the terms for the Europe 2020 Project Bond Initiative which will be one of a number of risk-sharing instruments upon which the facility may draw in order to attract private finance in projects. The pilot phase will start next year.

Cohesion: legislative package of EU regional, employment and social policy for 2014-2020 - guide — 06 October 2011, 14:16 CET

Cohesion policy is implemented through programmes which run for the duration of the EU seven-year budget cycle. The current 455 programmes are foreseen until 2013. This is why it is necessary to define the architecture of the policy for the new generation of programmes and allocations for 2014-20. Today’s legislative package includes an overarching regulation setting out common rules governing the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). One set of rules instead of 5. Three specific regulations for the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund will also be included, as well as two regulations dealing with the European territorial cooperation goal and the European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC). The Commission also adopted proposals for two instruments in the area of employment and social policy, namely the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) and the Programme for Social Change and Innovation (PSCI), as well as a communication on the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF).

Annual Report on the Protection of the EU's Financial Interests and the Fight against Fraud in 2010 — 29 September 2011, 16:34 CET

the European Commission published its Annual Report on the Protection of the EU's Financial Interests and the Fight against Fraud in 2010. The purpose of the report is to measure the risk of EU expenditure and revenues being misused through irregularities and suspected fraud.