Chapter News

20 Jan
Chapter News

ECB | January 2021 euro area bank lending survey

Credit standards tightened for loans to enterprises and households Firms’ demand for loans continued to decline, while demand for housing loans increased Government guarantees on loans to firms supported bank lending conditions Credit standards – i.e. banks’ internal guidelines or loan approval criteria – tightened across all loan categories, namely loans to enterprises, loans to households for house purchase and consumer credit and other lending to households in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the January 2021 bank lending survey (BLS). The net...

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20 Jan
Chapter News, COVID-19 News

IMF | What the Continued Global Uncertainty Means for You

Global uncertainty reached unprecedented levels at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak and remains elevated. The World Uncertainty Index—a quarterly measure of global economic and policy uncertainty covering 143 countries—shows that although uncertainty has come down by about 60 percent from the peak observed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2020, it remains about 50 percent above its historical average during the 1996–2010 period. 'Uncertainty in systemic economies matters for uncertainty around the world.' What drives global uncertainty? Economic...

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19 Jan
Brexit News, Chapter News

European Commission reorganises the “Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom” into the “Service for the EU-UK Agreements”

The conclusion of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on 24 December 2020 means that the very successful mandate of the Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom (UKTF) will come to an end. The UKTF will cease to exist on 1 March 2021. To support the efficient and rigorous implementation and monitoring of the Agreements with the UK, the European Commission has decided to establish a new Service for the EU-UK Agreements (UKS). The UKS will be part...

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14 Jan
Chapter News

ECB digital euro consultation ends with record level of public feedback

Over 8,000 responses received in online survey Privacy, security and pan-European reach ranked highest in European citizens’ preferences Detailed analysis to be published in spring, ahead of decision on project launch The European Central Bank (ECB) concluded its public consultation on the digital euro yesterday and will now analyse in detail the large number of responses. 8,221 citizens, firms and industry associations submitted responses to an online questionnaire, a record for ECB public consultations. The public consultation was launched on...

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14 Jan
Chapter News

IMF | Legally Speaking, is Digital Money Really Money?

Countries are moving fast toward creating digital currencies. Or, so we hear from various surveys showing an increasing number of central banks making substantial progress towards having an official digital currency. But, in fact, close to 80 percent of the world’s central banks are either not allowed to issue a digital currency under their existing laws, or the legal framework is not clear. To help countries make this assessment, we reviewed the central bank laws of 174 IMF members in a new IMF staff paper, and...

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13 Jan
Brexit News, Chapter News

EU-UK future relations: MEPs to debate the agreement reached on 24 December

Members on the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committees will debate the new EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on Thursday at 10.00 CET. The joint meeting of the lead committees will intensify the democratic parliamentary scrutiny process for the new EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement reached by EU and British negotiators on 24 December. The two committees will in due course vote on the consent proposal prepared by the two standing rapporteurs Christophe Hansen (EPP, Luxembourg) and Kati Piri (S&D, The Netherlands), to allow for...

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13 Jan
Chapter News

TechDispatch | EU Personal Information Management Systems

Personal Information Management Systems (PIMS) are new products and services that help individuals to have more control over their personal data. PIMS enable individuals themselves to manage and control their online identity. 1. What are Personal Information Management Systems? The PIMS concept offers a new approach in which individuals are the “holders” of their own personal information. PIMS allow individuals to manage their personal data in secure, local or online storage systems and share them when and with whom they choose....

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12 Jan
Brexit News, Chapter News

John Bruton | The UK/EU Trade & Cooperation Agreement

By John Bruton, former Prime Minister of Ireland (Taoiseach) & former EU Ambassador to the US | UK gained a little extra sovereignty of the island of Britain, by giving up some UK sovereignty in Northern Ireland The EU/UK trade deal maintains Ireland’s agricultural export market in Britain. A “No Deal” would have destroyed it. The imposition of tariffs would have imposed huge costsm on consumers and disruption to business. That said, the fact that the Agreement had to be rushed through...

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12 Jan
Chapter News, COVID-19 News

Coronavirus: EU Commission concludes exploratory talks with Valneva to secure a new potential vaccine

Today, the European Commission concluded exploratory talks with the pharmaceutical company Valneva with a view to purchasing its potential vaccine against COVID-19. The envisaged contract with Valneva would provide for the possibility for all EU Member States to purchase together 30 million doses, and they could further purchase up to 30 million more doses. Today's finalisation of exploratory talks with Valneva come in addition to an already secured broad portfolio of vaccines to be produced in Europe, including the contracts...

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11 Jan
Chapter News

IMF | Denmark’s Ambitious Green Vision

Denmark aspires to become one of the most climate-friendly countries in the world. In June, its Parliament overwhelmingly passed a new climate law that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, with net zero emissions targeted for 2050. This is an even more ambitious goal than the EU’s target to cut emissions by 55 percent over the same time period. 70% Amount by which Denmark plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 relative to 1990 levels A new IMF staff...

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