The European Commission has today adopted a new Digital Finance Package, including Digital Finance and Retail Payments Strategies, and legislative proposals on crypto-assets and digital resilience. Today's package will boost Europe's competitiveness and innovation in the financial sector, paving the way for Europe to become a global standard-setter. It will give consumers more choice and opportunities in financial services and modern payments, while at the same time ensuring consumer protection and financial stability. Today's measures will be crucial in supporting...

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Smarter and standardised reporting procedures proposed to reduce banks’ reporting costs Banking industry involvement in improving procedures needed The European Central Bank (ECB) today published the European System of Central Banks’ (ESCB) input into a European Banking Authority (EBA) feasibility report on reducing the reporting burden for the European banking industry. Under Article 430c of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR), the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union mandated the EBA to carry out a feasibility study and requested...

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Today, the European Commission is proposing an upgrade of the Single European Sky regulatory framework which comes on the heels of the European Green Deal. The objective is to modernise the management of European airspace and to establish more sustainable and efficient flightpaths. This can reduce up to 10% of air transport emissions. The proposal comes as the sharp drop in air traffic caused by the coronavirus pandemic calls for greater resilience of our air traffic management, by making it  easier to...

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Bonds with coupons linked to sustainability performance targets to become eligible as central bank collateral Potential eligibility also for asset purchases under the APP and the PEPP subject to compliance with programme-specific eligibility criteria Decision applicable from 1 January 2021 The European Central Bank (ECB) has decided that bonds with coupon structures linked to certain sustainability performance targets will become eligible as collateral for Eurosystem credit operations and also for Eurosystem outright purchases for monetary policy purposes, provided they...

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today mapped out in her first annual State of the Union address, a path for the European Union to overcome the fragility laid bare by the coronavirus crisis and build a union of vitality. The 2020 State of the European Union debate came at a time of uncertainty with the coronavirus pandemic still affecting all aspects European and global economies and societies. The pandemic has simultaneously shown both the fragility of the global system and...

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The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has adopted the opinion Decent minimum wages across Europe following the European Parliament's request for an exploratory opinion. The request was made after the Commission announced that it was considering proposing a legal instrument to ensure that every EU worker is entitled to a minimum wage allowing a decent standard of living. Figures show that about one in ten workers in the EU earn around or below the national statutory minimum wage. In some countries,...

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The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and EBAN, the Europe leading early-stage investors network, have signed a collaboration agreement to promote and encourage activities and services that support small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Both organisations play an essential and complementary role in their shared vision to empower EU SMEs within the EU and beyond. Business angels are a significant driver of the innovation process in the EU start-up ecosystem and IP rights have long been recognised in the success...

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In line with the European Green Deal and the EU's objective to become the first climate neutral economy by 2050, the Commission adopted today revised EU Emission Trading System State aid Guidelines in the context of the system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading post-2021 (the “ETS Guidelines”). They will enter into force on 1 January 2021 with the start of the new ETS trading period, and replace the previous Guidelines adopted in 2012. Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “To sustainably...

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ECB’s Governing Council confirms exceptional circumstances Opinion instrumental in ECB Banking Supervision’s decision to allow banks to exclude central bank exposures from leverage ratio See also ECB Banking Supervision announcement on leverage ratio The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has decided that it concurs with ECB Banking supervision that there are ‘exceptional circumstances’ allowing the temporary exclusion of certain central bank exposures from the leverage ratio. The Governing Council said in an opinion: “The situation brought about...

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