27/11/2018 – Business, taxation and competition / Employment and social rights / Enlargement, external relations and trade

27/11/2018 – Business, taxation and competition / Employment and social rights / Enlargement, external relations and trade

​Today, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published a Decision on the cross-border collaboration of national competent authorities (NCAs) with respect to the Directive (EU) 2016/2341 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs), the IORP II Directive.

This Decision replaces the former Budapest Protocol which had to be revised as a result of the new IORP II Directive, the latter due to be transposed into national law by the European Union Member States  by 13 January 2019.

The overall objective of the Decision is to strengthen the cross-border collaboration between National Competent Authorities (NCAs) on cross-border activities described by the IORP II Directive, such Institutions of Occupational Retirement Provisions (IORPs) should be able to transfer pension schemes to other IORPs across the border within the European Union. It promotes greater transparency towards IORPs to be duly informed by the NCAs about their expectations, such as the justification and decision linked with the provision information to the NCAs.  For further clarity of the procedures to be followed for the cross-border activities the appendices to the Decision include useful information material, such as templates, flow charts and examples of cross-border activities.

Furthermore, the Decision describes different situations and possibilities for NCAs to exchange information about cross-border activities in relation to the “fit and proper” assessment and the outsourcing of key functions, both new provisions of the IORP II Directive.

The Decision can be obtained via this link to EIOPA’s Website.

Note to the Editors

The Budapest Protocol provided a framework for the cooperation of competent authorities in the implementation of Directive 2003/41/EC on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs) in relation to the supervision of IORPs that operate cross-border activities.

The IORP II Directive introduces new rules to improve the way occupational pension funds are governed, to enhance information transparency to pension savers and to clarify the procedures for carrying out cross-border transfers and activities.

The first annual European Insurance Overview report is now available on EIOPA’s website.

The European Insurance Overview report is published by EIOPA as an extension of its statistical services in order to provide an easy-to-use and accessible overview of the European insurance sector. The report is based on annually reported Solvency II information. This ensures that the data has a high coverage in all countries and is reported in a consistent manner across the European Economic Area.

The report is objective, factual and data driven and does not contain analysis or policy messages. It provides highly-relevant and easily-accessible data at the European level.

The report is published with all charts data available for download in a separate excel file.

The new report can be found here.

The 30^th meeting Management Board of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) met in Vienna at the premises of the Austrian Ministry of the Interior to discuss the ongoing implementation of the Agency’s Governance Action Plan and adopt its 2019 work programme. The meeting was the last to be chaired by Mag. Wolfgang Taucher, Director of the Austrian Federal Office for Aliens and Asylum (BMI), as his term is soon to expire after a total of eight years of service to EASO.

Mag. Taucher took up the post of Chair of the Management Board in February 2013 after serving as the Deputy Chair since the first meeting in 2010. He has been an institutional compass for the Agency and has skilfully guided the Management Board and EASO through various challenges. Most notable of these was the so-called 2015-2017 ‘migration crisis’ where EASO was called on to quickly and dramatically step up its operational assistance towards Italy and Greece despite resource limitations. 

Mr. Jamil Addou, Executive Director a.i. of EASO, thanked Mag. Taucher, who will remain the Austrian representative on the Management Board, for his tireless leadership, highlighting that his hands-on approach and dedication had instilled a culture of genuine ownership of the Agency’s work in the Management Board.  Mr. David Costello, who is the Deputy Chair of the Management Board, will take over as Chair until a replacement is elected.

EASO continues to improve its governance structures and support activities

The Management Board also dedicated significant time to reviewing the ongoing implementation of the ambitious Governance Action Plan designed by the Agency’s new management, which is aimed at ensuring that governance, and administrative procedures at EASO are carried out to the highest standards, while also ensuring trust in the Agency. 

Furthermore, the delegations discussed ongoing work on the 2019 Operational Plans for EASO’s operations in Cyprus, Greece and Italy, all of which are due to be signed with the respective authorities in the coming weeks. Notably, EASO is in the process of stepping-up its assistance to Cyprus, including in terms of reception, assistance in the management of backlog and registration, as well as the provision of training and study visits.

Finally, the Management Board approved the Agency’s Single Programming Document 2019-2021, including the 2019 Work Programme and Budget. The plans also account for the possible transformation of EASO into the European Union Agency for Asylum, with a significantly expanded mandate, should co-legislators conclude negotiations.

Any further information may be obtained from the European Asylum Support Office on the following email address: press@easo.europa.eu