Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Personal tools
Sections
You are here: Home topics Finance Finance Guides
Document Actions

Finance Guides

Up one level
Guides on the EU policy on Finance.
Directive on criminal sanctions for market abuse by EUbusiness — last modified 04 February 2014, 14:46 CET
Judges imposing their countries’ maximum penalties for serious offences such as manipulating the LIBOR benchmark interest rate would have to stipulate at least four years in jail under draft rules approved by the European Parliament on 4 February 2014. These rules, which aim to restore confidence in the EU's financial markets and improve investor protection, now have to be formally approved by EU Member States.
EU Anti-Corruption Report by EUbusiness — last modified 03 February 2014, 16:16 CET
Corruption continues to be a challenge for Europe, according to the European Commission. Affecting all EU Member States, corruption costs the European economy around EUR 120 billion per year. Member States have taken many initiatives in recent years, but the results are seen as uneven and the Commission says more should be done to prevent and punish corruption. These are some of the conclusions from the first ever EU Anti-Corruption Report published on 3 February 2014. The EU Anti-Corruption Report explains the situation in each Member State: what anti-corruption measures are in place, which ones are working well, what could be improved and how. National chapters in English and in national languages are available here: http://ec.europa.eu/anti-corruption-report The report shows that both the nature and level of corruption, and the effectiveness of measures taken to fight it, vary from one Member State to another. It also shows that corruption deserves greater attention in all Member States.
Revision of Public Procurement Directives by EUbusiness — last modified 15 January 2014, 19:56 CET
New EU rules on public procurement and concession contracts approved by the European Parliament on 15 January 2014 are expected to ensure better quality and value for money when public authorities buy or lease works, goods or services.
New rules for risk finance by EUbusiness — last modified 15 January 2014, 20:48 CET
The European Commission has adopted new guidelines setting out the conditions under which Member States can grant aid to facilitate access to finance by European SMEs and companies with a medium capitalization (the so-called "midcaps"). Certain SMEs and midcaps, in particular innovative and growth-oriented SMEs in their early development stages, have difficulties to get funding, independently of the quality of their business potential. State aid can help address this funding gap, not by replacing existing funding channels but by attracting fresh money into new ventures through well-designed financial instruments and fiscal measures. These guidelines are part of the Commission's State Aid Modernisation (SAM) strategy, which aims at fostering growth in the Single Market by encouraging more effective aid measures and focusing the Commission's scrutiny on cases with the biggest impact on competition. The guidelines will enter into force on 1 July 2014.
Deal to regulate financial markets (MiFID II) by EUbusiness — last modified 15 January 2014, 11:57 CET
Comprehensive rules to govern financial markets were agreed informally by negotiators for Parliament and the Council of Ministers on 14 January. These rules are designed to close the loopholes in the existing legislation, ensuring that financial markets are safer as well as more efficient, investors are better protected, speculative commodity trading is curbed and high-frequency trading is regulated.
Structural and investment funds boost for partners' role in planning and spending by EUbusiness — last modified 08 January 2014, 19:53 CET
The European Commission on 7 January adopted a common set of standards to improve consultation, participation and dialogue with partners such as regional, local, urban and other public authorities, trade unions, employers, non-governmental organisations and bodies responsible for promoting social inclusion, gender equality and non-discrimination during the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of projects financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF).
Autumn fiscal surveillance package by EUbusiness — last modified 15 November 2013, 14:34 CET
The European Commission today presented a major package of budgetary surveillance announcements, covering 13 eurozone Member States and 3 non-euro Member States, with a special focus also on the euro area as an economic entity in its own right. For the first time, the Commission has issued opinions on euro area Member States' Draft Budgetary Plans, which from this year must be submitted to the Commission by 15 October, at the same time as draft budgets are sent to national parliaments. Assessments have also been published regarding compliance with Council recommendations under the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP), potential breaches of the debt and deficit criteria under the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), and on certain Member States' plans for structural reforms with a budgetary impact outlined in their Economic Partnership Programmes (EPP).
Alert Mechanism Report on macroeconomic imbalances in EU Member States by EUbusiness — last modified 13 November 2013, 19:57 CET
The 2014 Alert Mechanism Report (AMR), which launches the next annual cycle of the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure, provides an objective analysis of Member States' economies based on a scoreboard of indicators that measure internal and external competitiveness. This year the AMR has found that several Member States are making progress in reducing their current account deficits and reversing losses in competitiveness. However, the AMR shows that further progress is needed to address high debt and the net international investment position of the most indebted economies, while high current account surpluses persist in some countries, suggesting possibly inefficient levels of saving and investment and the need to strengthen domestic demand. The AMR recommends an in-depth review of economic developments in 16 Member States, which have different challenges and potential risks that could spill over to the rest of the euro area and wider EU. The AMR does not prejudge the results of these reviews, which aim to assess whether imbalances exist, and whether previously identified imbalances persist or are being unwound.
Commission proposal for a Regulation on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts by EUbusiness — last modified 18 September 2013, 13:46 CET
The Commission has proposed draft legislation to help restore confidence in the integrity of benchmarks. A benchmark is an index (statistical measure), calculated from a representative set of underlying data, that is used as a reference price for a financial instrument or financial contract or to measure the performance of an investment fund. The new rules will enhance the robustness and reliability of benchmarks, facilitate the prevention and detection of their manipulation and clarify responsibility for and the supervision of benchmarks by the authorities. The manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR) resulted in multi-million euro fines on several banks in Europe and the US, and allegations of manipulation of commodity (e.g. oil, gas and biofuel) and exchange-rate benchmarks are also under investigation. The prices of financial instruments worth trillions of euro depend on benchmarks, and millions of residential mortgages are also linked to them. As a result, benchmark manipulation can cause significant losses to consumers and investors, distort the real economy, and undermine market confidence.
Proposed new rules for money market funds (MMFs) by EUbusiness — last modified 04 September 2013, 17:13 CET
The Commission has today adopted a communication on shadow banking and also proposed new rules for money market funds (MMFs). These aim to ensure that MMFs can better withstand redemption pressure in stressed market conditions by enhancing their liquidity profile and stability.
Customs action to tackle IPR infringing goods by EUbusiness — last modified 05 August 2013, 18:49 CET
EU Customs detained almost 40 million products suspected of violating intellectual property rights (IPR) in 2012, according to the Commission's annual report on customs actions to enforce IPR. Although this is less than the 2011 figure, the value of the intercepted goods is still high, at nearly €1 billion. Today’s report also gives statistics on the type, provenance and transport method of counterfeit products detained at the EU's external borders. Cigarettes accounted for a large number of interceptions (31%), miscellaneous goods (e.g. bottles, lamps, glue, batteries, washing powder) were the next largest category (12%), followed by packaging materials (10%). Postal and courier packages accounted for around 70% of customs interventions in 2012, with 23% of the detentions in postal traffic concerning medicines.
Payment Services Directive and Interchange fees Regulation by EUbusiness — last modified 24 July 2013, 19:24 CET
In order to adapt EU payments market to the opportunities of the single market and to support the growth of the EU economy, the European Commission adopted a package including: A new payment Services Directive ("PSD2"); and a proposal for regulation on interchange fees for card-based payment transactions.
Protection of EU financial interests and the fight against fraud by EUbusiness — last modified 24 July 2013, 19:06 CET
Fraud affecting the EU budget increased slightly in 2012 compared to 2011, according to the European Commission's annual report on the "Protection of the EU's Financial Interests". On the expenditure side, in total, €315 million in EU funds were affected by fraud, or 0.25% of the expenditure budget. This compares to €295 million the previous year. The reason for this increase lies almost entirely with two cases of fraud in pre-accession funds, involving large sums. On the revenue side of the budget, suspected or confirmed fraud amounted to €77.6 million, representing 0.42% of the total traditional own resources collected for 2012. This compares to €109 million the previous year.
European Public Prosecutor's Office by EUbusiness — last modified 17 July 2013, 22:25 CET
The European Commission is taking action to improve Union-wide prosecution of criminals who defraud EU taxpayers by establishing a European Public Prosecutor's Office. Its exclusive task will be to investigate and prosecute and, where relevant, bring to judgement – in the Member States' courts - crimes affecting the EU budget. The European Public Prosecutor's Office will be an independent institution, subject to democratic oversight.
Blue belt: customs formalities eased for ships by EUbusiness — last modified 10 July 2013, 13:04 CET
The European Commission on 8 July set out plans to ease custom formalities for ships – reducing red tape, cutting delays in ports and making the sector more competitive. Freight forwarders and exporters currently complain that if they chose to send goods across Europe by short sea shipping, the heavy administrative burden at ports causes additional costs and significant delays - ships can wait for hours and sometimes days in ports for customs clearance. These make the maritime sector less attractive compared to other forms of transport, especially road, unnecessarily bringing more trucks on our already congested roads. With the new Commission proposals, it is hoped that shipping transport will face less administrative hurdles and therefore be able to be used to its full potential in the EU internal market and beyond.
E-invoicing in public procurement by EUbusiness — last modified 27 June 2013, 13:56 CET
The European Commission has today proposed a draft directive on e-invoicing in public procurement, accompanied by a communication setting out its vision for the full digitisation of the public procurement process, so-called 'end-to-end e-procurement'. E-invoicing is an important step towards paperless public administration (e-government) in Europe – one of the priorities of the Digital Agenda - and offers the potential for significant economic as well as environmental benefits. The Commission estimates that the adoption of e-invoicing in public procurement across the EU could generate savings of up to €2.3 billion.
Regional Aid Guidelines for 2014-2020 by EUbusiness — last modified 20 June 2013, 17:01 CET
The European Commission has adopted guidelines on how Member States can grant investment aid to companies in order to support the development of disadvantaged regions in Europe between 2014 and 2020. These guidelines are part of a broader strategy to modernise state aid control, which aims at fostering growth in the Single Market by encouraging more effective aid measures and focusing the Commission's enforcement on cases with the biggest impact on competition. The guidelines will enter into force on 1 July 2014.
Credit rating agencies - new EU rules enter into force by EUbusiness — last modified 18 June 2013, 18:21 CET
As of 20 June 2013, credit rating agencies (CRAs) have to follow stricter rules which will make them more accountable for their actions. The new rules also aim to reduce over-reliance on credit ratings while at the same time improving the quality of the rating process. Credit rating agencies will have to be more transparent when rating sovereign states.
Financial reporting obligations for limited liability companies (Accounting Directive) by EUbusiness — last modified 13 June 2013, 13:16 CET
The European Parliament on 12 June voted in new Accounting and Transparency Directives, a modernisation of financial reporting obligations, which should see costs reduced, in particular for SMEs.
Excessive Deficit Procedure 2013 by EUbusiness — last modified 29 May 2013, 16:26 CET
As part of the package of country-specific recommendations 2013 published on 29 May, the European Commission has also adopted a number of decisions under the Excessive Deficit Procedure, reflecting the latest developments in Member States that are expected to bring their government deficit to below the EU's 3% of GDP threshold. The Commission has today recommended that the Council abrogate the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) for five countries: Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania. The Commission has also recommended that the Council open an EDP for Malta. Moreover, the Commission has adopted Recommendations to the Council with a view to extend the deadlines for correcting the excessive deficit in six countries: Spain, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia. In addition, the Commission has recommended that the Council decides that no effective action has been taken by Belgium to put an end to the excessive deficit and that the Council gives notice to Belgium to take measures to correct the excessive deficit.