Contribution by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, to the International Monetary Fund’s magazine Finance and Development | Central banks must do their part in fighting global warming The devastating effects of climate change are becoming increasingly evident. Temperature records are being shattered again this year—in Canada, the United States, arctic Russia and central Asia. Globally, the past six years have been the hottest six on record, and temperatures in 2020 exceeded the 1850-1900 average by 1.25°C (2.25°F). Exactly how...

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Interview with Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, conducted by Miquel Roig and Jorge Zuloaga on 26 August and published on 1 September 2021 | You are almost halfway through your term as Vice-President of the ECB. How would you assess your term so far, and what aims do you have for the second half? These three years have been extremely interesting, and they have been marked, above all else, by the pandemic – an extraordinary event that has sparked...

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To help EU consumers cut their energy bills and carbon footprint, a brand new version of the widely-recognised EU energy label for light bulbs and other lighting products will be applicable in all shops and online retail outlets from Wednesday, 1 September 2021. The move follows the considerable improvement in energy efficiency in this sector in recent years, which has meant that more and more “light sources” (such as light bulbs and LED modules) have achieved label ratings of...

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The system for protecting EU businesses from dumped and subsidised imports continued to function well in 2020 thanks to the EU's robust and innovative ways of using trade defence instruments (TDI), despite the practical challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is part of the European Commission's new trade strategy, whereby the EU takes a more assertive stance in defending its interests against unfair trade practices. Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said: “The EU needs effective tools to defend ourselves...

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Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Carla Neuhaus on 17 August and published on 20 August 2021 | Ms Schnabel, do you see the images of the catastrophic floods in Germany or the forest fires in Greece as a sign that the ECB should also do something to counter climate change? For me, the latest events have confirmed that we are doing the right thing with our new strategy. Only recently we decided...

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Agency’s amended complaint details how the monopolist survived existential threats by illegally acquiring innovative competitors and burying successful app developers Today, the Federal Trade Commission filed an amended complaint against Facebook in the agency’s ongoing federal antitrust case. The complaint alleges that after repeated failed attempts to develop innovative mobile features for its network, Facebook instead resorted to an illegal buy-or-bury scheme to maintain its dominance. It unlawfully acquired innovative competitors with popular mobile features that succeeded where Facebook’s own offerings fell...

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The European Commission has decided to open an investigation to assess whether Illumina's decision to complete its acquisition of GRAIL, while the Commission's in-depth investigation into the proposed transaction is still ongoing, constitutes a breach of the “standstill obligation” under Article 7 of the Merger Regulation. The standstill obligation prevents the potentially irreparable negative impact of transactions on the market, pending the outcome of the Commission's investigation. This investigation is separate from the Commission's in-depth investigation into the substance...

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The European Commission has today disbursed €5.1 billion to France in pre-financing, equivalent to 13% of the country's financial allocation under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The pre-financing payment will help to kick-start the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in France's recovery and resilience plan. The Commission will authorise further disbursements based on the implementation of the investments and reforms outlined in France's recovery and resilience plan. The country is set to receive €39.4 billion...

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