Europe must speed up its green and digital transition. For that, we need to complete the Capital Markets Union to provide effective financing. This is the plea made by the five Presidents of the ECB, EIB, European Council, European Commission and Eurogroup in a joint post The European Union is determined to fast-forward its green and digital transition. What we decide today will affect the generations to come. It is our collective responsibility to get it right. Creating net-zero industries,...

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Introductory remarks by Fabio Panetta, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the meeting of the Euro Cyber Resilience Board for pan-European Financial Infrastructures | Frankfurt am Main, 8 March 2023 | The proliferation of cyber threat actors combined with an increase in remote working and greater digital interconnectedness is raising the risk, frequency and severity of cyberattacks. Increasingly, cyber criminals are launching ransomware attacks and demanding payment in crypto. Cyberattacks related to geopolitical developments – Russia’s aggression...

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On 7 March 2023, the European Commission carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of companies and an association active in the fragrance industry in various Member States. In parallel, the Commission has sent out formal requests for information to several companies active in the same sector. The inspections and requests for information concern possible collusion in relation to the supply of fragrances and fragrance ingredients. Fragrances are used in the manufacture of consumer products such as household and personal...

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Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Commission is empowered to impose a fee on providers under its supervision, which is expected to be levied for the first time in autumn 2023.  The Commission has now set the detailed rules and procedures for such supervisory fees to be levied. The delegated regulation aims to provide legal certainty to the service providers designated as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) or Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs) under the DSA. It specifies...

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Following a dialogue with EU consumer protection authorities and the European Commission (CPC network), WhatsApp committed to being more transparent on changes to its terms of service. Moreover, the company will make it easier for users to reject updates when they disagree with them, and will clearly explain when such rejection leads the user to no longer be able to use WhatsApp's services. Also, WhatsApp confirmed that users' personal data are not shared with third-parties or other Meta companies...

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