Digitalization has in the past few years enabled developing countries in particular to leapfrog on financial inclusion. Countries like Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda and Tanzania have made great advances in connecting their citizens to financial systems by leveraging on mobile phone technology. "Digitalization must be driven by the needs of the people and work for them." As the world has grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, with closing of borders, curfews, lockdowns and other movement restrictions, digitalization has come to the rescue. Online...

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Anti-money laundering and terrorism financing Ministers discussed the Council conclusions on anti-money laundering and terrorism financing, which aim to provide the Commission with guidance in advance of its legislative proposals in 2021 on a single rule book, EU-level supervision and a coordination and support mechanism for member states' financial intelligence units. During the discussion, ministers expressed broad support for the draft Council conclusions as prepared by Coreper and at expert level. In the draft conclusions, the Council outlines various areas in which the Commission should consider harmonising...

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Easing of overall credit terms and conditions represented a partial reversal of the tightening recorded in the previous two survey rounds Increase in pressure, in particular from non-financial corporate counterparties, to obtain more favourable conditions Valuation disputes decreased for both securities financing and derivatives transactions Survey respondents reported an easing of credit terms and conditions over the June 2020 to August 2020 review period representing a partial reversal of the widespread tightening of credit terms and conditions observed in...

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The Council today adopted two recast regulations, one on the taking of evidence and a second on the service of documents, to modernise cross-border exchanges between authorities through digitalisation. After reaching a political agreement with the European Parliament in June 2020, the text will now be submitted to the Parliament for its final adoption. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a modern and digital justice system. The regulations adopted today will allow for faster, more efficient cooperation between...

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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s Securities Markets Authority, has today made available new data for bonds subject to the pre- and post-trade requirements of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and Regulation (MiFIR) through its data register. ESMA published the latest quarterly liquidity assessment for bonds available for trading on EU trading venues. For this period, there are currently 499 liquid bonds subject to MiFID II transparency requirements. ESMA’s liquidity assessment for bonds is based...

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The European Commission has today proposed a new initiative that will make it easier for different authorities involved in goods clearance to exchange electronic information submitted by traders, who will be able to submit the information required for import or export of goods only once. The so-called ‘EU Single Window Environment for Customs' aims to enhance cooperation and coordination between different authorities, in order to facilitate the automatic verification of non-customs formalities for goods entering or leaving the EU. The...

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This document was updated with additional contributions on 30 October 2020, at 15h30, which are marked with an asterisk * Overview by policy area In its regular package of infringement decisions, the European Commission pursues legal action against Member States for failing to comply with their obligations under EU law. These decisions, covering various sectors and EU policy areas, aim to ensure the proper application of EU law for the benefit of citizens and businesses. The key decisions taken by the Commission...

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OECD Ministers have closed two days of discussions on measures to strengthen international co-operation and ‘build back better’ from the COVID-19 crisis. Chaired by Spain, the annual OECD Ministerial Meeting at Council Level discussed macroeconomic policies and recovery plans, employment and social protection, trade and investment, resilient global value chains and the actions needed for a green recovery. Read the final statement from the Ministerial meeting. The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed the worst health, economic and social crisis in the 60-year...

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HICP inflation expectations for 2020 and 2021 revised down slightly, while longer-term inflation expectations broadly unchanged Expected profile of real GDP revised up slightly, with slightly milder downturn in 2020 and rebound in 2021 Unemployment rate expectations revised down across all horizons Respondents to the European Central Bank (ECB) Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) for the fourth quarter of 2020 reported point forecasts for annual HICP inflation averaging 0.3%, 0.9% and 1.3% for 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively. These...

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