EU approves €100 million in financial assistance for Jordan

Today, the European Commission will disburse a €100 million loan to Jordan under the EU’s Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) programme. Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, said: “Today’s decision to disburse €100 million to Jordan under a new MFA programme demonstrates the EU’s continued support for the country in these challenging times. I look forward to continuing our work with the Jordanian authorities on their reform programme and in securing a stable, stronger economy for Jordan to the benefit of its entire population.” This disbursement marks the launch of the second Macro-Financial Assistance programme for Jordan with a total worth of €200 million, which follows a first package of €180 million approved in 2013 and fully disbursed in 2015. The disbursement of the second €100 million instalment is expected to take place during the course of 2018, depending on Jordan fulfilling agreed commitments. The aim of this assistance is to strengthen the country’s foreign exchange reserve position and to help Jordan meet its balance of payments and budgetary financing needs. The MFA programme will also support reforms in a number of areas. These include public finance management, tax and social safety net systems, education and professional training, trade policies and active labour market policies aimed at increasing employment opportunities for both Jordanian citizens and Syrian refugees living in Jordan. A press release is available here. (For more information: Annika Breidthardt – Tel.: +32 229 56153; Enda McNamara – Tel.: +32 229 64976)

EU-funded physicists involved in ground-breaking astronomic discovery

For the first time ever scientists have observed a collision of two neutron stars. They used two different kinds of methodologies, gravitational waves and light. These ground-breaking results were presented yesterday by the research teams behind the discovery of gravitational waves – work which recently earned three of their leading researchers the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics. 11 fellows from the EU funded project GraWIToN have participated in this observation. The project is funded with €3.7 million under theMarie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, underlined the extraordinary nature of the observation: “Today marks a new approach in astronomy. From now on researchers are able to both see and hear cosmic events to better understand them. I am proud that EU funding contributed to their pioneering revelations.” Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, emphasised that “this discovery again proves that our investment in excellent researchers leads to important scientific breakthroughs. Here, the results have the potential to revolutionise astrophysics, but the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions support research that helps us tackle the big challenges facing Europe across the board”. The discovery will further deepen our grasp of the universe demonstrating that gold and platinum are formed in large cosmic collisions. The research was conducted by the LIGO observatory in the US, the Virgo detector in Italy, and other facilities including the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The EU has supported ESO with over €14 million in the past ten years. Further information is available in a Horizon magazine article and a news item. (For more information: Nathalie Vandystadt – Tel.: +32 229 67083; Lucía Caudet – Tel.: +32 229 56182; Joseph Waldstein – Tel.: +32 229 56184; Victoria von Hammerstein – Tel.: +32 229 55040)

1 million refugees in Turkey reached by EU’s Emergency Social Safety Net

The EU funded Emergency Social Safety Net programme has now reached one million refugees living in Turkey. Launched by the European Commission in September 2016, and implemented by the World Food Programme and the Turkish Red Crescent in collaboration with the Turkish government, the flagship programme is the largest ever humanitarian aid operation funded by the European Union.  Visiting Turkey today, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides said: “Today is a milestone for the life-changing results achieved by our biggest ever aid programme; and for the EU delivering on its commitments to Turkey. We have made a difference for a staggering 1 million people already. With the commitment and work of our partners, the impact of the programme grows by the day. Turkey continues to host the largest refugee population in the world. It is our humanitarian and moral duty to help refugees that have fled war and persecution.” The €348 million programme is financed through the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey. A full press release is available here. (For more information: Carlos Martin Ruiz de Gordejuela – Tel.: +32 229 65322; Daniel Puglisi – Tel.: +32 229 69140)       

Criminal justice: making better use of the European Arrest Warrant

The European Commission is releasing today a handbook to support judicial authorities to make better use of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) to improve the fight against cross-border crime. Commissioner Jourová opened the High Level Expert meeting on the European Arrest Warrant today, where this handbook was presented. She said ahead of this event: “The European Arrest Warrant is a success story. It shortens drastically the time for criminals to be transferred from one EU country to the other. It allows these criminals to be brought to justice in the country where they committed their crime. A more efficient cooperation between justice authorities will improve safety in Europe “. Since its launch in 2004, the European Arrest Warrant has been the most used EU instrument of judicial cooperation in criminal matters, with 16,144 European Arrest Warrants issued in 2015. The European Arrest Warrant allowed for the speedy extradition of, for example, a terrorist involved in the Paris attacks caught in Brussels and a gang of armed robbers sought by Italy whose members were arrested in six different EU countries. The handbook provides a series of tips and recommendations to help judges and practitioners when they issue or execute a European Arrest Warrant. The handbook, factsheets and statistics are available online. (For more information: Christian Wigand– Tel.: +32 229 62253;Mélanie Voin – Tel.: +32 229 58659)

Developing Europe’s Digital Platform for cultural heritage: public consultation opens

How can digital culture enrich your daily life and work? Do you share, access or use cultural heritage materials online? Today, the Commission launches a public consultation to hear the opinions from citizens and organisations with a personal or professional interest in digital culture available online. The Commission wants to know how citizens, professionals and organisations use Europeana, the European online platform for culture heritage that is visited approximately 700,000 times per month. The platform gives access to over 53 million items including image, text, sound, video and 3D material from the collections of over 3,700 libraries, archives, museums, galleries and audio-visual collections across Europe. The platform can be used by teachers, artists, data professionals in cultural institutions and creative fields but also everyone looking for information on culture. The public consultation will help to identify through an independent evaluation how Europana is currently used and how this can be improved and made more accessible for everyone.For example, the platform provides content also for re-use in the education, research or creative sectors of which many people are not yet aware. The results of the consultation will contribute to further develop Europeana’s offers and increase its visibility and use for the European culture heritage online. Europeana will also be closely associated to the European Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018. The public consultation will be open in all EU languages until 14 January 2018 here. (For more information: Nathalie Vandystadt – Tel.: +32 229 67083; Inga Höglund – Tel.: +32 229 50698)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Pattonair by Platinum

The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Pattonair Holdings Limited of the UK by Platinum Equity Group of the US. Pattonair is a global aerospace distributor, providing aircraft parts, value-adding logistics and supply chain management services. Platinum is specialised in mergers, acquisitions and operation of companies in a broad range of businesses, including information technology, telecommunications, logistics, metal services, manufacturing and distribution. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, because Platinum is not engaged in any business activity related to Pattonair’s business. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.8646. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 229 80100; Maria Sarantopoulou – Tel.: +32 229 13740)

Eurostat: Le taux d’inflation annuel stable à 1,5% dans la zone euro

Le taux d’inflation annuel de la zone euro s’est établi à 1,5% en septembre 2017, stable par rapport à août 2017. Un an auparavant, il était de 0,4%. Le taux d’inflation annuel de l’Union européenne s’est établi à 1,8% en septembre 2017, contre 1,7% en août 2017. Un an auparavant, il était de 0,4%. Ces chiffres sont publiés par Eurostat, l’office statistique de l’Union européenne. Un communiqué de presse est disponible ici. (Pour plus d’informations: Annika Breidthardt – Tel.:  Juliana Dahl – Tel.: +32 229 59914)

Upcoming events of the European Commission (ex-Top News)

He focused on three key issues in his speech:

1. To build a Capital Markets Union, especially by protecting retail investors;

2. A strong convergent European supervisory culture including Brexit; and

3. Improving our understanding of trends, risks and vulnerabilities in financial markets.

On Capital Markets Union

“Economic growth needs the willingness to take risks. Not the type of risks associated with exotic financial instruments, but the kind of risks that allow companies and entrepreneurs to conduct their business and to innovate, start new projects, and generate new revenues and jobs. The real economy needs capital through channels other than the traditional banking one and it should be more often equity rather than debt.”

“When we facilitate better access to capital markets for retail investors, we must acknowledge that a high level of investor protection is essential for a successful CMU. Only when investors feel sufficiently protected will they be willing to enter and participate in the financial markets.”

“Many retail investors still do not have sufficient trust in financial markets. There may be various reasons for that but one of them is surely that they have too often experienced poor service performance resulting from a lack of transparency, promises of unrealistic expected returns and unexpected hidden costs.”

“MiFID II will bring a range of measures that will help protect investors further. These include better transparency and granularity on costs and charges, product governance rules to ensure that the investors’ best interests are paramount, and powers for ESMA and national authorities to prohibit or restrict products in certain circumstances.”

“The Key Information Document (KID), like MIFID II, introduced as part of the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation (PRIIPs) will help to protect investors. It is probably one of the most tangible joint deliverables of the European Supervisory Authorities, for millions of users across the continent. Again, all regulators involved, at national and EU level, need to ensure that it does what it aims to deliver and that it enables consumers to compare different offerings based on a maximum three-page document drafted in plain language.”

“Based on a mandate of the European Commission, together with EBA and EIOPA, we are embarking on a large-scale study assessing the reporting of costs and past performance of retail investment products, in order to increase investors’ awareness of the net return of these products, and the impact of fees and charges. The implementation of MIFID II and PRIIPS, which will both increase the transparency on costs and charges, provide the right framework for such a study. For securities markets we will initially focus on the costs and performance of UCITS funds. In that context, we will also look into the differences between active and passive investing, and the impact on costs and charges, and long-term return.”

On Supervisory Convergence

“supervisory convergence is not just about ensuring consistent supervisory approaches and outcomes. It also aims at making it easier and smoother for market participants to do business in the EU. Supervisory convergence means consistency across countries – and achieving this means that remaining barriers to cross-border business can be removed, and a truly integrated EU financial market can be created.”

Brexit

“Our work on supervisory convergence has become even more important in the context of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. The ESMA Board agreed that we could not allow competition on regulatory and supervisory standards to attract UK entities relocating to the EU27. We have re-emphasised, and published, important general and sectoral principles on fostering consistency in authorisation, supervision and enforcement related to relocation. I would like to use the opportunity to express my gratitude for the good co-operation we have with, and between, NCAs as part of our Supervisory Coordination Network where we discuss important relocation decisions before they are taken at national level.”

“However, Brexit could also impact the stability and functioning of EU financial markets as the divorce proceedings continue. We have been, and will continue to, monitor closely the risks associated with a withdrawal without appropriate arrangements and, if needed, identify possible mitigating actions. In addition, as the supervisor of Credit Ratings Agencies and Trade Repositories, we have maintained an ongoing dialogue with them and requested their contingency plans to ensure that their post-Brexit set up complies with the relevant legislation.”

“Having said that, Brexit certainly does not mean that the EU should turn its back on the UK and the rest of the globe. Our pasts are fundamentally interwoven and built upon cooperation, trust and commonality, and our futures should be too – albeit naturally under different circumstances. The UK will not become your average third country. It is worth remembering that today the UK makes up about two thirds of EU equity trading , while representing around a tenth of the EU’s population. This will not change in the near future, and business ties with London and the rest of the world will remain. We should not lose sight of that and not let our discussions with the UK affect our global attractiveness.”

“Therefore, I warmly welcome the European Commission’s proposals for EMIR 2.2 and the ESMA Regulation in relation to the centralisation of third country supervision. I believe that this could bring benefits for the Union as a whole and for third countries. Indeed, ESMA can play a strong, central role in the future, as a single access point for third country entities and ensure consistent supervision of those entities across the EU.”

On Financial Stability

“Finally, let me touch upon the need for even further strengthening our understanding of developments in financial markets. First of all we should acknowledge that we have made significant progress in this area since the Financial Crisis, resulting in an improved ability to understand and analyse risks in the financial system. The time that we, as securities regulators, rely upon private sector reports for our risk assessments has passed. Today, ESMA produces its semi-annual Trends, Risks and Vulnerabilities Report, which provides granular information on EU financial markets across various dimensions, upon which we base our policy considerations.”

“Like other legislation implemented in response to the Financial Crisis, MiFID II/MiFIR will contribute to this over the years to come. The introduction of new data collection infrastructures like the Financial Instruments Reference Data System and the Access to Trade Repositories Project, luckily more easily referred to as FIRDS and TRACE, will allow even more harmonised and efficient data collection. The delegation of these projects by National Authorities to ESMA also illustrates the desire for a more centralised EU approach and makes ESMA a key part of the global financial markets infrastructure.”

“I believe that ESMA should further increase its central role in developing EU-wide databases. Such a concept would allow for mutual access by EU and National Authorities, and the public as necessary, which would in turn reduce duplication of data collection and processing by multiple authorities. The recent Commission proposals on the ESMA Regulation build on this concept by providing a role for ESMAin relation to the the collection and dissemination of transaction data directly from market participants to better identify and coordinate market abuses with significant cross-border effects.”

He focused on three key issues in his speech:

1. To build a Capital Markets Union, especially by protecting retail investors;

2. A strong convergent European supervisory culture including Brexit; and

3. Improving our understanding of trends, risks and vulnerabilities in financial markets.

On Capital Markets Union

“Economic growth needs the willingness to take risks. Not the type of risks associated with exotic financial instruments, but the kind of risks that allow companies and entrepreneurs to conduct their business and to innovate, start new projects, and generate new revenues and jobs. The real economy needs capital through channels other than the traditional banking one and it should be more often equity rather than debt.”

“When we facilitate better access to capital markets for retail investors, we must acknowledge that a high level of investor protection is essential for a successful CMU. Only when investors feel sufficiently protected will they be willing to enter and participate in the financial markets.”

“Many retail investors still do not have sufficient trust in financial markets. There may be various reasons for that but one of them is surely that they have too often experienced poor service performance resulting from a lack of transparency, promises of unrealistic expected returns and unexpected hidden costs.”

“MiFID II will bring a range of measures that will help protect investors further. These include better transparency and granularity on costs and charges, product governance rules to ensure that the investors’ best interests are paramount, and powers for ESMA and national authorities to prohibit or restrict products in certain circumstances.”

“The Key Information Document (KID), like MIFID II, introduced as part of the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation (PRIIPs) will help to protect investors. It is probably one of the most tangible joint deliverables of the European Supervisory Authorities, for millions of users across the continent. Again, all regulators involved, at national and EU level, need to ensure that it does what it aims to deliver and that it enables consumers to compare different offerings based on a maximum three-page document drafted in plain language.”

“Based on a mandate of the European Commission, together with EBA and EIOPA, we are embarking on a large-scale study assessing the reporting of costs and past performance of retail investment products, in order to increase investors’ awareness of the net return of these products, and the impact of fees and charges. The implementation of MIFID II and PRIIPS, which will both increase the transparency on costs and charges, provide the right framework for such a study. For securities markets we will initially focus on the costs and performance of UCITS funds. In that context, we will also look into the differences between active and passive investing, and the impact on costs and charges, and long-term return.”

On Supervisory Convergence

“supervisory convergence is not just about ensuring consistent supervisory approaches and outcomes. It also aims at making it easier and smoother for market participants to do business in the EU. Supervisory convergence means consistency across countries – and achieving this means that remaining barriers to cross-border business can be removed, and a truly integrated EU financial market can be created.”

Brexit

“Our work on supervisory convergence has become even more important in the context of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. The ESMA Board agreed that we could not allow competition on regulatory and supervisory standards to attract UK entities relocating to the EU27. We have re-emphasised, and published, important general and sectoral principles on fostering consistency in authorisation, supervision and enforcement related to relocation. I would like to use the opportunity to express my gratitude for the good co-operation we have with, and between, NCAs as part of our Supervisory Coordination Network where we discuss important relocation decisions before they are taken at national level.”

“However, Brexit could also impact the stability and functioning of EU financial markets as the divorce proceedings continue. We have been, and will continue to, monitor closely the risks associated with a withdrawal without appropriate arrangements and, if needed, identify possible mitigating actions. In addition, as the supervisor of Credit Ratings Agencies and Trade Repositories, we have maintained an ongoing dialogue with them and requested their contingency plans to ensure that their post-Brexit set up complies with the relevant legislation.”

“Having said that, Brexit certainly does not mean that the EU should turn its back on the UK and the rest of the globe. Our pasts are fundamentally interwoven and built upon cooperation, trust and commonality, and our futures should be too – albeit naturally under different circumstances. The UK will not become your average third country. It is worth remembering that today the UK makes up about two thirds of EU equity trading , while representing around a tenth of the EU’s population. This will not change in the near future, and business ties with London and the rest of the world will remain. We should not lose sight of that and not let our discussions with the UK affect our global attractiveness.”

“Therefore, I warmly welcome the European Commission’s proposals for EMIR 2.2 and the ESMA Regulation in relation to the centralisation of third country supervision. I believe that this could bring benefits for the Union as a whole and for third countries. Indeed, ESMA can play a strong, central role in the future, as a single access point for third country entities and ensure consistent supervision of those entities across the EU.”

On Financial Stability

“Finally, let me touch upon the need for even further strengthening our understanding of developments in financial markets. First of all we should acknowledge that we have made significant progress in this area since the Financial Crisis, resulting in an improved ability to understand and analyse risks in the financial system. The time that we, as securities regulators, rely upon private sector reports for our risk assessments has passed. Today, ESMA produces its semi-annual Trends, Risks and Vulnerabilities Report, which provides granular information on EU financial markets across various dimensions, upon which we base our policy considerations.”

“Like other legislation implemented in response to the Financial Crisis, MiFID II/MiFIR will contribute to this over the years to come. The introduction of new data collection infrastructures like the Financial Instruments Reference Data System and the Access to Trade Repositories Project, luckily more easily referred to as FIRDS and TRACE, will allow even more harmonised and efficient data collection. The delegation of these projects by National Authorities to ESMA also illustrates the desire for a more centralised EU approach and makes ESMA a key part of the global financial markets infrastructure.”

“I believe that ESMA should further increase its central role in developing EU-wide databases. Such a concept would allow for mutual access by EU and National Authorities, and the public as necessary, which would in turn reduce duplication of data collection and processing by multiple authorities. The recent Commission proposals on the ESMA Regulation build on this concept by providing a role for ESMAin relation to the the collection and dissemination of transaction data directly from market participants to better identify and coordinate market abuses with significant cross-border effects.”

Steven Maijoor, Chair, ahead of ESMA’s first major conference, said:

“MIFID II, the last major piece of the post-financial crisis regulatory agenda, will come into effect in less than three months. This, combined with a strengthening economic recovery, financial innovation opportunities, our largest financial centre moving outside the European Union (EU), and Europe’s continued heavy reliance on bank financing, has prompted us to reflect on the State of European Financial Markets today and in the future.

“ESMA is delighted to welcome our distinguished keynote speakers whose insights on current market trends and challenges will inform and drive today’s debate.”

Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the European Commission, will deliver the keynote address, kicking off a packed agenda. The four panel debates offer a unique forum to address issues critical to European capital markets. Topics include:

• Trading and Market Infrastructures:
• Brexit;
• Investors and Innovation; and
• The Regulatory Agenda Post-2017.

Keynote speakers include: Xavier Rolet, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), Roberto Gualtieri MEP, Chair of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), European Parliament and Ashley Alder, Chairman of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) who will provide the closing remarks.

The panel discussions, keynote remarks and interactions among supervisors and financial industry professionals during the conference offers an opportunity to discuss the state of European financial markets in the context of ESMA’s mission and how best to safeguard the stability of the European Union’s financial system in the coming years.

In addition to the 350 participants at the conference venue, the event will be available via live streaming and regular updates will be posted on ESMA’s social media channels. More information is available through twitter (@ESMAComms) or using #ESMA2017.

Launched by the European Commission in September 2016, and implemented by the World Food Programme and the Turkish Red Crescent in collaboration with the Turkish government, the flagship programme is the largest ever humanitarian aid operation funded by the European Union.

Visiting Turkey today, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides said: “Today is a milestone for the life-changing results achieved by our biggest ever aid programme; and for the EU delivering on its commitments to Turkey. We have made a difference for a staggering 1 million people already. With the commitment and work of our partners, the impact of the programme grows by the day. Turkey continues to host the largest refugee population in the world. It is our humanitarian and moral duty to help refugees that have fled war and persecution.”

The €348 million programme, which is financed through the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey, provides monthly transfers (of around €30 per person per month, plus quarterly top-ups) to the most vulnerable refugees. Assistance is channelled through a special debit card that can be used to purchase essential items in local shops. This approach is cost-effective and provides refugees with the dignity of choice, while stimulating local economies. All funding is also closely monitored to ensure it is well spent.

The registration of refugees for the programme started in November 2016, and the first financial transfers began at the end of December the same year. The EU and its partners will continue to pursue the project with the aim to reach 1.3 million refugees by the end of this year.

Background

The EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey was set up in 2015 in response to the European Council’s call for significant additional funding to support refugees in Turkey. It has a budget of €3 billion for 2016-2017. This is made up of €1 billion from the EU budget, and €2 billion from the EU Member States. The total allocated for implementation under the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey on humanitarian and non-humanitarian actions now stands at €2.9 billion.

The ESSN programme is implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Family and Social Policies, the Ministry of Interior Directorate General of Migration Management and General Directorate of Civil Registration and Nationality, under the coordination of AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency).

The European Commission funds several humanitarian aid programmes in Turkey. Other flagship projects include the Conditional Cash Transfer for Education (CCTE) project which helps refugee children attend school. The CCTE has already reached the families of over 72, 000 children, and aims to reach 230, 000 refugee children during its first year.

In addition to humanitarian assistance, the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey focuses on education, migration management, health, municipal infrastructure, and socio-economic support.

For More Information

Factsheet: The EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey

Website: The Emergency Social Safety Net