A salient feature of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been the sharp and deep decline in mobility, which has caused a slump in tourism, trade in travel services and consumption by non-residents. Lockdowns and social distancing measures led to strong declines in otherwise stable services consumption. This box takes stock of developments in the tourism sector, discusses how the impact of these developments on consumption has varied across countries and reviews the near-term prospects for a recovery in tourism and...

1 January 2021 | Assets (EUR millions) Balance Difference compared with last week due to i)transactions ii)quarter-end adjustments Totals/sub-totals may not add up, due to rounding i) ii) 1 Gold and gold receivables 536,542 0 −22,739 2 Claims on non-euro area residents denominated in foreign currency 347,179 1,313 −10,877 2.1 Receivables from the IMF 85,379 0 −1,700 2.2 Balances with banks and security investments, external loans and other external assets 261,800 1,314 −9,178 3 Claims on euro area residents denominated in foreign currency 23,437 −373 −726 4 Claims on non-euro area residents denominated in euro 14,337 1,375 −4 4.1 Balances with banks, security investments and loans 14,337 1,375 −4 4.2 Claims arising from the credit facility under ERM II 0 0 0 5 Lending to euro area credit institutions...

The COVID-19 health and economic crisis has once again focused attention on the fickleness of capital flows and the need to have an adequate policy toolkit to manage the risks that stem from these flows, while maximizing their benefits. A virtual workshop organized by the Bank of England, Banque de France, International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) highlighted risks emerging from the changing landscape of global capital flows and the need for greater international efforts to...

On 22 December 2020, the European Commission confirmed its plan for bond issuances in 2021 under its existing borrowing programmes. These include the SURE instrument to support short-term employment schemes in the EU Member States, the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) to refinance debt to two EU countries, as well as the Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to help non-EU countries address the coronavirus crisis. In total, the EU is going to raise at least €62.9 billion under these three programmes....

December 28, 2020 | By HR/VP Josep Borell Especially during the Covid-19 “infodemic”, we have seen how widespread and how damaging foreign interference and disinformation can be for our security, our democracy and our societies. Addressing disinformation is an urgent necessity. In a recent blog post, I discussed the threats that our democracies are facing in the cyberspace. I have also spoken often about the on-going ‘battles of narratives’. Countries and political leaders are trying to explain their positions and to portray...