Jorge Valero
EU pushes for convergence of insolvency rules to support recovery
The European Commission is preparing a series of proposals to drive the capital markets union to facilitate the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most difficult battles will be reducing the differences between national insolvency frameworks.
Member states press Commission to speed up evaluation of recovery plans
Some EU finance ministers are expected to request the European Commission on Friday (16 April) to shorten the two-month evaluation period of the recovery plans in order to speed up the implementation of the long-awaited European stimulus.
Recovery fund faces new hurdles with first disbursements
The European Commission could find it difficult to transfer the first tranche of the recovery funds to all member states according to its calendar, as most plans are expected to be approved at the same time and there will be limited capacity to borrow from the markets.
Parliament to look into Commission’s multi-million bill with consultancy firms
The European Parliament will examine the European Commission’s sizeable expenditure on big consultancy firms, recently revealed by EURACTIV.com, and propose a different approach to limit their influence in structural reforms, the chair of the Parliament’s budgetary control committee has said.
Regulators maintain call for prudence in bonuses and dividends payout
Regulators are urging banks and insurance companies to exercise caution in handing out dividend payments to shareholders and bonuses to employees, as Europe continues to struggle to cement its recovery from the Covid pandemic.
Europe looks for investment to spur its ailing recovery
Difficulties never come alone in the EU. The German Constitutional court’s decision to halt the ratification of the EU’s recovery fund on 26 March is the latest challenge faced by the EU in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.
MEPs grill Commission about growing expenditure in consultancy firms
A group of 73 MEPs have sent a letter to the European Commission expressing concerns about hundreds of millions of euros spent on consultancy firms and their involvement in policymaking in the wake of an exclusive report by EURACTIV.com.
European recovery sidelines the young generation
Despite being the most affected group by the coronavirus-induced crisis, young Europeans feel increasingly left out from plans for post-pandemic recovery. Experts call for targeted measures to support them and ensure a quick implementation of the EU’s Youth Guarantee at the national level.
EU Court of Auditors looking into Commission’s contracts with consultants
The European Court of Auditors is examining almost half a billion euro worth of contracts the European Commission has concluded with external consultants to assess whether there is fair value for money in the contracts, a spokesperson of the institution told EURACTIV on Thursday (18 March).
EXCLUSIVE: Commission’s ballooning bill with consultancy firms revealed
The European Commission spent more than €462 million between 2016 and 2019 in contracts with the ‘Big Four’ consultancy firms, according to estimates made by EURACTIV based on official documents.
Commission pledges new due diligence rules will be balanced
The European Commission is by the end of the year set to propose new rules subjecting companies to stricter controls in a bid to encourage them to ensure suppliers respect human rights and do not harm the environment.
EU-US agree to suspend tariffs to settle aircraft subsidies dispute
The EU and the US agreed on Friday (5 March) to suspend the tariffs mutually imposed in the context of the Boeing-Airbus dispute, while both sides try to reach a compromise on the subsidies given to their aircraft manufacturers.
EU unemployment reinsurance scheme falls off Commission’s radar
An EU reinsurance scheme to support national unemployment benefits was not part of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan presented on Thursday (4 March), although the European Commission has been supportive of the idea.
Asking job seekers to reveal previous salaries is ‘discrimination’, EU’s Dalli says
The EU's Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, presented on Thursday (4 March) the first EU-wide compulsory rules to force companies to disclose salaries by type of work and employees’ sex. The goal is to tackle the pay gap between men and women in the EU, currently at 14%.
Commission wants to keep fiscal rules suspended in 2022
The European Commission said on Wednesday (3 March) that the Stability and Growth Pact should remain suspended next year as the European economy needs additional stimulus to return to the pre-crisis level.
Bigger capital requirements hang over EU insurance sector in Solvency review
EU regulators and the insurance sector disagree over whether the review of the rules for the industry (Solvency II) should include higher capital requirements to deal with risks of interest rate changes, which insurers say would mean less money to support recovery.
Commission outlines ‘greener’ and more assertive trade policy
A tougher approach with partners and more focus on climate and labour rights will be key pillars of the new EU trade policy outlined by the European Commission on Thursday (18 February).
EU sets end of May deadline for Turkey to avoid blacklist
The European Union decided not to include Turkey in its blacklist on Monday (15 February) after the Turkish authorities made some commitments to facilitate the exchange of information on tax matters.
Investors ‘concerned’ about EU recovery fund rollout, warns ESM chief
EU’s recovery funds could start flowing to member states before summer. Still, investors are “concerned” about the speed of the implementation of the EU’s joint stimulus, the European Stability Mechanism said on Monday (15 February).
Okonjo-Iweala elected as the first female WTO chief
The World Trade Organisation appointed Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as its new director-general on Monday (15 February). The WTO's first female chief and the first one to come from the African continent takes the reins at a time when the organisation needs to reform to respond to growing global challenges and trade tensions.
Commission’s leaked study beefs up arguments to complete banking union
The probability of liquidity shortfalls to protect bank depositors in a new 2008-like crisis would be cut by half if the EU completed the banking union with a European Deposit Insurance Scheme, according to a European Commission analysis seen by EURACTIV.com.
How the vaccine export control blunder exposed von der Leyen’s ‘flawed’ centralism
Relevant EU commissioners were not consulted and staffer members had less than 30 minutes for a “quick check” before the EU's proposed vaccine export control mechanism was presented to journalists last Friday (29 January), officials told EURACTIV.
EU Commission wants extra €1.5 billion to fight pandemic
The European Commission on Monday (1 February) said it will need to tap into the EU budget margins this year – around €1.5 billion – to monitor progress made with vaccination campaigns, finance pharmacovigilance studies, and fight against the new variants of COVID-19.