ESMA publishes third annual report on use of sanctions for UCITS

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, today publishes its 2019 report on the use of supervisory sanctions by National Competent Authorities (NCAs) under the Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferrable Securities (UCITS) Directive.

While the number of NCAs issuing sanctions (penalties and measures) remains stable at 15, compared to the previous report for the period 2016-2018, the financial amount of penalties issued decreased slightly based on a year on year comparison. The data gathered under the sanction reports published so far shows that the sanctioning powers are not equally used among NCAs and, except for certain NCAs, the number and amount of sanctions issued at national level seems relatively low.

In order to understand the possible reasons behind the uneven use of the sanctioning tool among Member States, ESMA organised a one-day workshop on 16 July 2020 for NCAs’ staff working in supervision and enforcement teams on the topic of sanctions in UCITS and AIFs.

The UCITS sanctions report published today contains an overview of the applicable legal framework and information on the penalties and measures imposed by NCAs in accordance with Article 99e of the UCITS Directive from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019. NCAs submit data on the use of sanctions to ESMA, which forms the basis of the annual aggregated report.

Next steps

ESMA continues its work to foster supervisory convergence in the application of the UCITS Directive and will issue separate reports on an annual basis for future reporting periods.

Survey on the application of the Insurance Distribution Directive

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) launched today a survey on the application of the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) that entered into force on 23 February 2016. The aim of the survey is to gather feedback from stakeholders on the experience with the application of the IDD, in particular on the improvement of quality of advice and selling methods, the impact of the IDD on small and medium-sized enterprises and possible further improvements identified after the application of the IDD.

Stakeholders are invited to provide their feedback by 1 February 2021.

Following the feedback received, EIOPA will carry out an assessment and plans to publish a report by end of 2021.

Contact for further questions: IDDApplicationReport@eiopa.europa.eu.

Go to the survey

Press release – MEPs unanimously condemn recent terrorist attacks in France and Austria

In a debate with Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson, who announced upcoming EU initiatives such as strengthening Europol’s mandate and an action plan on integration and inclusion, MEPs pointed to the need to further close the gaps and loopholes in existing counter-terrorism legislation and in its implementation. At the same time, measures promoting integration into our societies, education and non-discrimination should be further developed and supported.

Several members referred to the need to urgently tackle online aspects of radicalisation and hate speech. Some called for inter-institutional negotiations on legislation that would require terrorist content to be removed from the internet to be concluded immediately, whereas others considered it equally important to reach a balanced outcome, protecting fundamental rights and freedom of expression.

Catch up with the debate by VOD

Nagorno-Karabakh: EASO publishes chronology of recent armed conflict

On 11 November, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a chronology of the armed conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The chronology lists major events between 27 September 2020, when the conflict started, and 10 November 2020, when the cease-fire agreement was announced by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Russian Federation, and focuses on the impact of the conflict on the civilian population.

The document can be utilised by EU asylum officials as an objective resource when assessing applications for international protection relating to the events in question.

The chronology can be downloaded from the EASO COI Portal on the following link.

Article – Covid-19: how is the EU doing on health? (Interview)

As Europe faces rising numbers of Covid-19 cases, what lessons have been learnt from the first wave?

The Covid crisis is an unprecedented challenge for our societies. We know that we will need a vaccine, but we also know that it will take time.

We have learnt from the first wave that coordination is key. Uncoordinated actions, border management, accounting health methodologies have been among the main topics on which improvements were deemed necessary. That is why I welcome the new proposal by the European Commission to tackle cross-border health threats and the revised mandate of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Medicine Agency.

From a larger perspective, this crisis has allowed the EU to make a significant leap forward in European integration with the recovery plan. The new EU health programme will allow us to support our hospitals, to make sure that we have the necessary medical products and above all to support our healthcare people who have been at the forefront of the battle over the last months. We also must ensure the economic recovery does not go against our climate and environment agenda.

An effective and safe vaccine is the most likely solution to stop the pandemic. Is the EU doing enough to support its development and ensure access for all Europeans?

Usually it takes 10 years to create a vaccine so what we are trying to achieve is a huge challenge. The Commission is leading negotiations with pharmaceutical companies to make sure that as soon as we find a vaccine we will be able to provide it to all Europeans.

We support the action of the Commission, but as the chair of the public health committee, I have asked for transparency on the purchase programme. Today, we have no information on the provisions included in the advance purchase agreements between the Commission and the pharmaceutical companies. If we want to build trust, we need transparency, especially regarding prices, production locations, intellectual property arrangements and the liability and indemnification linked to any damage caused by a vaccine. We also need to make sure that the European budget is used carefully and carefully controlled.

At the beginning of the pandemic, the EU was criticised for insufficient cooperation. Member states are primarily responsible for health policies, but should more now be done at EU level?

The EU should do more to prevent future pandemics. As for many other topics, these topics need to be handled at the proper scale and no single member state is equipped to act alone.

A Europe that protects also means tackling the fact that health and environment are bound together. Many experts have already warned of the links between climate change and pandemics.

With the climate crisis, and especially deforestation, this kind of pandemic may occur more regularly. We have to keep acting concretely on climate change and prepare our health systems to manage this possibility.