EU Legislation, Initiatives, etc.
EU News: The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) decided in December 2010 to implement loan-level data reporting requirements for asset-backed securities (ABSs) as part of the Eurosystem’s collateral framework.
Preparatory work has been concluded and the Governing Council also took note of the creation of a European DataWarehouse, the single loan-level data repository that could be used for the handling of loan-level data reporting. In this context, the mandatory provision of loan-by-loan information for ABSs is to be introduced.
EU News: The European Commission has announced the final & biggest ever set of calls for proposals for research under its Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). In total, €8.1bn will ‘support projects & ideas that will boost Europe's competitiveness and tackle issues such as human health, protecting the environment and finding new solutions to growing challenges linked to urbanisation and managing waste’.
Most of the calls for proposals (invitations to bid for funds) will be published on 10 July, with some further specific calls to follow in the autumn.
EU News: Insider dealing & market manipulation, referred to together as ‘market abuse’, must be clearly defined & punished with the same dissuasive criminal sanctions in all member states, says the civil liberties committee.
EU News: Bank troubles and Eurozone's future shape dominate Draghi discussion
PC&PE: Rushed proposals from the European Commission to regulate financial markets risk damaging both the City of London and the entire EU financial sector. Flawed transparency proposals and the risk of creating unnecessary red tape means the EU needs to stop and take the time to get the proposals right, according to a report published recently by the House of Lords Economic & Financial Affairs EU Sub-Committee.
EU News: EU foreign policy spending after 2013 'must reflect the EU's political ambitions and be resource-efficient, effective and democratically accountable', said foreign affairs committee MEPs recently in votes on geographic & thematic funds for the EU's external action.
EU News: The EU needs a truly strategic concept for its external policy in order to punch its weight on the international stage, foreign affairs committee MEPs said last week. To be effective and consistent, the EU's action in the global arena needs a new, comprehensive approach.
EU News: EU member states must investigate whether there were secret prisons or facilities on their territory where people were held under the CIA secret rendition programme in the early years of this century , say MEPs in a report adopted by the Civil Liberties Committee recently. Lithuania, Poland & Romania in particular are in encouraged to open, or resume, independent investigations.
EU News: Anyone suspected or accused of a criminal offence in the EU should have the right to talk to a lawyer as soon as possible, and before police questioning starts, says the civil liberties committee in amendments to a draft directive adopted last week. This should include people not under arrest, say MEPs, adding that all communication with the lawyer must always be confidential.
EU News: With the holiday season already starting and millions of Europeans intending on travelling within & outside the European Union, there are certain travel considerations that every European should be aware of.
Whether these concern having a health insurance, resolving travel disputes with an operator or travelling with a pet, these tips provide a useful insight into the ways in which the EU is working to help & assist EU travellers.
Whether these concern having a health insurance, resolving travel disputes with an operator or travelling with a pet, these tips provide a useful insight into the ways in which the EU is working to help & assist EU travellers.
EU News: Despite commitments by Member States to promote inclusive education, children with special educational needs & disabled adults are still getting a raw deal, according to a report published by the European Commission. Around 45m EU citizens of working age have a disability and 15m children have special educational needs.
EU News: The European Council's move to change the draft law to create an EU patent would "infringe EU law" and make the rules "not effective at all", Bernhard Rapkay (S&D, DE), who is responsible for the draft legislation, told the Legal Affairs Committee recently. Most MEPs strongly criticised the European Council's move and agreed to resume the discussion in September 2012.
EU News: Misuse of EU funds for criminal purposes puts the EU's objectives of generating jobs & growth and improving living conditions at stake. With public finances under pressure throughout the EU, every euro counts.
The European Commission has therefore proposed new rules to fight fraud against the EU budget by means of criminal law to better safeguard taxpayers' money.
The European Commission has therefore proposed new rules to fight fraud against the EU budget by means of criminal law to better safeguard taxpayers' money.
EU News: A permanent system for relocating internationally protected persons within the EU would help to improve asylum policy solidarity among EU member states, says a resolution voted by the Civil Liberties Committee on last week. MEPs also call for more money for asylum policy, joint processing of asylum applications and a stronger role for the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), to promote closer cooperation among EU countries.
The committee calls on the Commission to include an ‘EU distribution key’ for relocating beneficiaries of international protection in its legislative proposal for a permanent intra-EU relocation mechanism. The system would use objective indicators, such as member states' GDP, population, surface area and beneficiaries' best interests & integration prospects.
EU News: The European Commission has proposed measures to modernise collecting societies and put in place incentives to promote their transparency & efficiency.
DECC: Recently the European Commission (EC) Climate Change Committee (CCC) voted to approve the UK’s national auction platform for phase III & aviation auctions under the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). The UK expects auctioning to start in November 2012.
EU News: The EC recently put forward proposals to implement targets that will further considerably reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new cars and light commercial vehicles (vans) by 2020.
EU News: The European Central Bank (ECB) recently published its report on ‘The international role of the euro’, which examines developments in the use of the euro by non-euro area residents during the year 2011.
