Stronger financial regulation and supervision, and developing global standards, can help address many concerns about crypto assets The already volatile world of crypto has been upended anew by the collapse of one its largest platforms, which highlighted risks from crypto assets that lack basic protections. The losses punctuated an already perilous period for crypto, which has lost trillions of dollars in market value. Bitcoin, the largest, is down by almost two-thirds from its peak in late 2021, and about three-quarters of...

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"Check against delivery" Ladies and Gentlemen, Lieber Klaus, Dear Olena, For almost one year now, Ukraine has stunned the world. On that fateful February morning, many predicted that Kyiv would fall in a matter of days. But this did not account for the morale and physical courage of Ukrainian people. You have resisted the Russian invasion and pushed back against the aggressor against all odds. Not even Russia's relentless attacks on civilians or the spectre of a brutal winter have shaken your resolve....

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The Basel Committee's oversight body endorses a global prudential standard for banks' exposures to cryptoassets, for implementation by 1 January 2025. Endorses the Committee's work programme and strategic priorities for 2023–24. The programme prioritises work on emerging risks and vulnerabilities, digitalisation, climate-related financial risks and Basel III implementation. The Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS), the oversight body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, met on 16 December to endorse a finalised prudential standard...

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Interview with Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Martin Wolf on 12 January 2023 | 17 January 2023 | From your perspective, how much do you see the big rise in inflation as having been due to a supply shock or a demand shock, globally and also within the eurozone? The way to think about the last two years is that this supply versus demand question has to be addressed at a sectoral level. We...

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Today, the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (‘FSR') enters into force. This new set of rules for addressing distortions caused by foreign subsidies will allow the EU to remain open to trade and investment, while ensuring a level playing field for all companies operating in the Single Market. The Regulation was proposed by the Commission in May 2021 and agreed by the European Parliament and the Council in record-time, in June 2022. The new rules on distortive foreign subsidies The FSR applies to...

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Prepared by Matteo Falagiarda and Christine Gartner Published as part of the ECB Economic Bulletin, Issue 8/2022. On 1 January 2023 Croatia adopted the euro and became the 20th member of the euro area. The assessments set out in the 2022 convergence reports of the European Commission and the European Central Bank paved the way for the first enlargement of the euro area since Lithuania joined in 2015. On 12 July 2022 the Council of the European Union formally approved Croatia’s accession...

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The Digital Decade policy programme 2030, a monitoring and cooperation mechanism to achieve common targets for Europe's digital transformation by 2030, has entered into force. For the first time, the European Parliament, Member States and the Commission have jointly set concrete objectives and targets in the four key areas of digital skills, infrastructure including connectivity, the digitalisation of businesses, and online public services, in respect of the Declaration on European Digital Rights and Principles. The objectives and targets are accompanied...

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On 13 December 2022, the European Commission launched the process towards the adoption of an adequacy decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, which will foster safe trans-Atlantic data flows and address the concerns raised by the Court of Justice of the European Union in its Schrems II decision of July 2020. Today's draft decision follows the signature of a US Executive Order by President Biden on 7 October 2022, along with the regulations issued by the US Attorney General...

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The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has today announced the conclusion of two inquiries into the data processing operations of Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (“Meta Ireland”) in connection with the delivery of its Facebook and Instagram services. (Meta Ireland was previously known as Facebook Ireland Limited). Final decisions have now been made by the DPC in which it has fined Meta Ireland €210 million (for breaches of the GDPR relating to its Facebook service), and €180 million (for breaches in relation...

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With the right tools, policymakers can help to manage the climate risks impacting economies and financial systems When it comes to the devastating impact of climate change, most people think of the harm inflicted on lives and livelihoods. Yet the effects of more frequent and extreme weather are just as consequential for the health of financial systems. The physical impacts of climate-related shocks, such as hurricane damage to power grids, affect financial institutions and how they make decisions. So do the risks of transition to...

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