Finance and Monetary Affairs in the EU

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

Who gets EU funding? EC website gives details of beneficiaries — 09 October 2008, 14:01 CET

The "Financial Transparency system" website and search engine allows, for the first time, free access to details of who receives EU funds managed directly by the Commission and its executive agencies. Based on accounting data, it provides a consolidated view of the previous financial year and contains approximately 28.000 entries on Commission-run programmes in policy areas like research, education and culture, energy and transport and certain aspects of aid to third countries. This new search engine will allow users to analyse and compare information on beneficiaries and policy areas more easily. It is one of the building blocks in the Commission's wider European Transparency Initiative (ETI).

EU finance ministers (Ecofin): Europe's immediate responses to financial turmoil — 08 October 2008, 00:01 CET

The Council of European Union Finance Ministers (ECOFIN) today adopted conclusions on the immediate responses to take to the financial crisis, along with four statements on the following subjects: financial stability and financial supervision, a coordinated EU response to the economic slowdown, executive pay, and the fight against tax fraud.

TI welcomes new transparency on EU fund beneficiaries but calls for more standardised information — 05 October 2008, 13:49 CET

Transparency International (TI) welcomes the European Union's (EU) new system for disclosing the beneficiaries of its funds. The European Commission recently launched several web portals through which information on the recipients of certain EU funds can be accessed. TI calls on EU Member States and the Commission to further enhance the information provided for and published through the disclosure system.

Capital Requirements Directive - briefing — 02 October 2008, 22:38 CET

The European Commission has put forward a revision of EU rules on capital requirements for banks that is designed to reinforce the stability of the financial system, reduce risk exposure and improve supervision of banks that operate in more than one EU country. Under the new rules, banks will be restricted in lending beyond a certain limit to any one party, while national supervisory authorities will have a better overview of the activities of cross-border banking groups. The proposal, which amends the existing Capital Requirements Directives, reflects extensive consultation with international partners, Member States and industry. It now passes to the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers for consideration.

EU-China trade in facts and figures — 23 September 2008, 15:04 CET

China is now the third biggest national exporter in the global economy after Germany and the US. China now accounts for about 8 % of all imports and 12% of all exports in world trade in goods. More than half of China's exports are currently capitalised by foreign companies. Most of this capitalisation comes from neighbouring Asian companies in Japan and South Korea. 8% of it is European.

Interim forecast, September 2008 — 10 September 2008, 19:07 CET

As global headwinds intensify the prospects for economic growth in the euro area and the EU worsen and inflation has not yet started to moderate.

Excise duty on tobacco products - guide — 16 July 2008, 21:51 CET

The European Commission presented on 16 July a Report and a proposal for a Directive to amend the current EU excise duty legislation on tobacco. The draft EU Directive foresees a gradual increase in the EU minimum taxation levels on cigarettes and fine cut tobacco up to 2014. It also updates the definitions of different types of tobacco products so as to remove loopholes which allow certain cigarettes or fine cut tobacco to be presented as cigars, cigarillos or pipe tobacco and therefore benefiting from a lower tax rate. Today's proposal will narrow differences between EU Member States' tobacco taxation levels and so help tackle intra-EU tobacco smuggling. It would also make the taxation rules more transparent, thereby creating a level playing field for manufacturers and giving flexibility to Member States to set minimum taxes. It also aims to contribute to reducing tobacco consumption by 10 per cent within the next 5 years.

Review of the international role of the euro — 10 July 2008, 22:26 CET

The European Central Bank (ECB) published on 9 July 2008 its "Review of the international role of the euro", focusing on developments during the year 2007.

Communication on VAT reduced rates - guide — 07 July 2008, 14:06 CET

The European Commission made a proposal on 7 July 2008 to change the VAT Directive 2006/112/EC so as to provide EU Member States with the flexibility to apply reduced VAT rates for some specific services on a permanent basis. The Commission proposal covers areas where there is sufficient evidence that reduced rates do not create problems for the proper functioning of the Internal Market. The sectors concerned are mainly so called labour-intensive services and locally supplied services, including restaurant services. The proposal is also part of the small business act as SMEs dominate the sectors concerned. The proposal does not alter the principle that the application of reduced rates is optional for Member States.

Economic Reconstruction and Development in South East Europe — 04 July 2008, 14:01 CET

The Joint Office for South East Europe was set up in 1999 to support the European Commission and the World Bank in their Joint role as coordinators of international assistance for the reconstruction and development of South East Europe (SEE). The work of the office is underpinned by three core interrelated functions: Facilitating European Commission / World Bank / Donor Cooperation; Aid mobilization and monitoring aid flows to South East Europe; and Communicating and transferring knowledge and information to both the international community and the countries of the region.

How VAT works in the European Union — 04 July 2008, 13:46 CET

Value Added Tax, or VAT, in the European Union is a general, broadly based consumption tax assessed on the value added to goods and services. It applies more or less to all goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in the Community. Thus, goods which are sold for export or services which are sold to customers abroad are normally not subject to VAT. Conversely imports are taxed to keep the system fair for EU producers so that they can compete on equal terms on the European market with suppliers situated outside the Union.

EU-Mediterranean Trade — 02 July 2008, 16:38 CET

Trade relations between the EU and the neighbouring Southern Mediterranean (MED) countries are governed by the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (also referred to as the Barcelona Process), which was launched in November 1995. The partner countries are Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and the Palestinian Authority, as well as Turkey.

The life of women and men in Europe - A statistical portrait — 09 June 2008, 16:50 CET

This is a very interesting publication on gender statistics. It describes the situations of women and men at different stages of their lives. It begins by covering children, their education and initial training. Possible differences between women and men in the age at which they leave the family home and in their lifestyles are also shown. It then examines women and men in their professional life, focusing on their differing career paths, the respective positions they occupy and their abilities and strategies for reconciling the pursuit of a working career with family responsibilities. The final analytical part is a review of women and men beyond retirement age, including the income they receive from pensions and other sources. Whether or not they are still working, their household circumstances, their health and social relations are further matters dealt with in the publication.

Europe in Figures - Eurostat Yearbook 2008 — 03 June 2008, 15:46 CET

What was the population growth in the EU27 over the last 10 years? In which EU Member State is it most common to own a house? Which Member State has the highest hourly labour cost? Which Member States are the most popular tourist destinations? The answers to these questions and to many more can be found in the 12th edition of the Eurostat Yearbook1, published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. Europe in Figures - Eurostat Yearbook 2008 provides users of official statistics with an overview of the wealth of information that is available on Eurostat's web site and within its online databases. It shows how key indicators have developed during the last eleven years in the EU27, the euro area, the Member States and the Candidate countries. Data for the EFTA countries, the US and Japan are included when available.

Financial inclusion - guide — 29 May 2008, 00:52 CET

The study “Financial Services Provision and Prevention of Financial Exclusion”, prepared for the European Commission, aims at identifying and analysing the most effective policy measures to prevent financial exclusion of people facing poverty or social exclusion.

Financial Inclusion website — 23 May 2008, 15:01 CET

This website has been developed for the European study 'Financial Services Provision and Prevention of Financial Exclusion', financed by the European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunity led from January 2007 till March 2008.

Notice on state aid in the form of Guarantees - guide — 20 May 2008, 19:06 CET

The European Commission on 20 May 2008 adopted a new Notice on state aid in the form of guarantees. The text sets out clear and transparent methodologies to calculate the aid element in a guarantee and provides simplified rules for SMEs, including predefined safe-harbour premiums and single premium rates for low-amount guarantees. The new Notice was foreseen in the State Aid Action Plan as part of the Commission's efforts to clarify and simplify the state aid rules.

Commission issues Recommendation to strengthen confidence in statutory audit — 14 May 2008, 00:57 CET

The European Commission on 13 May 2008 issued a Recommendation on "external quality assurance for statutory auditors and audit firms auditing public interest entities". It provides guidance to EU Member States for establishing an independent and effective system of inspections on the basis of the Directive on Statutory Audit. In essence, this Recommendation gives more responsibilities to the public oversight bodies, strengthens the independence of inspection teams and enhances transparency on the results of inspections of individual audit firms.

EU budget 2009: EUROCHAMBRES urges even more resources for 'competitiveness' — 08 May 2008, 00:52 CET

Yesterday the European Commission adopted the Preliminary Draft Budget for 2009. EUROCHAMBRES is pleased to see that, this year again, the bulk of the overall budget (44.7%) is devoted to the 'sustainable growth' heading.

2008 Convergence Report of the European Commission — 07 May 2008, 17:56 CET

The European Commission concluded on 7 May 2008 that Slovakia meets the criteria for adopting the euro and made a proposal to the Council to this effect. The regular Convergence Report on euro readiness, adopted by the Commission, shows that the other nine countries with a so-called 'derogation' have made progress on the road to the single currency, but do not yet meet all the conditions for euro adoption. The Council of EU finance ministers (ECOFIN) will take the final decision on the adoption of the euro in Slovakia in July, after Parliament has given its opinion and EU heads of state and government have discussed the subject at their summit meeting in June.

EMU and the euro - guide — 07 May 2008, 16:50 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.

Towards EMU@10 - Research resources — 02 May 2008, 18:35 CET

This umbrella project embraces a wide array of research activities to mark 10 years of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). In May 2008, it will be 10 years since the final decision in May 1998 to move to the third and final stage of EMU - together with the decision on which Member States would participate – followed by the launch of the euro on 1 January 1999. The project has three dimensions: assessing the economic achievements of the euro area’s first decade; identifying current and future challenges; and developing policy proposals in response to those challenges.

Report on fraud regarding non cash means of payments in the EU: the implementation of the 2004-2007 EU Action Plan — 30 April 2008, 00:20 CET

The European Commission has published a report on the actions undertaken on prevention of payment fraud between 2004 and 2007 following an Action Plan on this matter. This report shows that the security of means of payment and payment systems is a necessary condition for improving consumer confidence and trust in new payment services. From a regulatory point of view, the security of means of payment has been addressed in recent legislation, namely in Payment Services Directive, and also the third Money Laundering Directive by means of the "know your customer" obligations. The development of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) by industry will provide an opportunity to build on the legislative framework to increase both security and trust.

Spring economic forecasts 2008 - 2009 — 28 April 2008, 15:56 CET

EU Macro-economic forecasts: growth moderates, price pressures a worry but, overall, EU weathers external headwinds rather well.

Commission investigation into UK restructuring aid package for Northern Rock - guide — 02 April 2008, 11:18 CET

The European Commission on 2 April 2008 launched an in-depth investigation under the EC Treaty’s rules on state aid into the UK authorities' package of measures to support the restructuring of Northern Rock, the UK mortgage bank. The Commission received the notification of these measures on 17th March 2008. The opening of an in-depth investigation gives interested parties the possibility to comment on the proposed measures but it does not prejudge the outcome.