The European Commission has today published the first EU-wide report on the rule of law. Today's report includes input from every Member State and covers both positive and negative developments across the EU. It shows that many Member States have high rule of law standards, but important challenges to the rule of law exist in the EU. It also reflects relevant developments stemming from the emergency measures taken by Member States due to the coronavirus crisis. The report covers four main pillars with a...

It is a pleasure and a privilege to speak to you today under the aegis of the Bruegel Institute. Your contributions to the debate on Europe do not go unnoticed; they have an impact. European strategic autonomy. Or sovereignty? Or strength? We all know that concepts and words can take on different connotations depending on the context. Today I’d like to concentrate on the substance behind the words. But first of all, I’d like to avoid laying myself open to...

The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world. Economic activity and employment have picked up in recent months but remain well below their levels at the beginning of the year. Weaker demand and significantly lower oil prices are holding down...

The EACC chapter network recently asked its members across the network in Europe and the United States a series of questions to gauge how the pandemic was impacting their willingness to gauge in a range of activities. This repeated a survey we did a few months ago. We found some significant differences between Europe and the U.S. For example – overall, 57 percent of respondents said they had already or were prepared to return to their normal workplaces.  However, 73...

The European Commission has today launched a new Customs Union Action Plan setting out a series of measures to make EU customs smarter, more innovative and more efficient over the next four years. The announced measures will strengthen the Customs Union as a cornerstone of the Single Market. They also confirm its major role in protecting EU revenues and the security, health and prosperity of EU citizens and businesses. In her political guidelines, President von der Leyen announced that the Customs Union...

ECB phasing out secured marketable assets other than asset-backed securities, legislative covered bonds and multi-cédulas as collateral Application process and acceptance criteria for external credit assessment institutions clarified Amendments to treatment of breaches with respect to own fund requirements and reporting on capital ratios The European Central Bank (ECB) has today published amendments to its guidelines on the implementation of monetary policy in the Eurosystem, applicable from 1 January 2021. The amended guidelines implement a decision taken by the Governing...

Keynote address by François Villeroy de Galhau, Gouverneur de la Banque de France, Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum webinar, 25 September 2020 | Good morning and welcome to this webinar, jointly organized by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum and the Banque de France. What better way to demonstrate the digital transformation than holding an event in cyberspace. It has been common in recent years to hear about disruptive technologies but over the past 6 months, information technology...