European Union

The Council: 

1. RECALLS its Conclusions of 19 June 2015 on a Capital Markets Union[1] encouraging the Commission to elaborate a comprehensive, targeted and ambitious action plan for building a Capital Markets Union (CMU) as a lever for more jobs, growth and investment; 

2. WELCOMES the adoption by the Commission of the Action Plan on Building a Capital Markets Union[2] with a step-by-step approach based on a thorough analysis and the Commission's presentation of a first package of more concrete proposals and initiatives[3]; and STRESSES the importance of preserving momentum also in the long-term with a concrete and ambitious agenda for further on-going action; 

3. RECALLS that the CMU is an important pillar of the Commission Investment Plan to promote jobs and growth in Europe by continuing the three pronged approach (growth-friendly fiscal consolidation, structural reforms, investment) as well as by removing unjustified barriers to cross-border investment and diversifying the sources of funding, thus supporting notably the financing of infrastructure and SMEs; 

4. UNDERLINES the relevance of the CMU as a project of shared importance for EU-28, and as a priority for completing the Economic and Monetary Union[4], WELCOMES the opportunity that it presents for all Member States, including those with less developed capital markets to tap into deeper European financial markets and STRESSES the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality as well as preservation of financial stability and investor protection to be respected in all related initiatives; 

5. RECALLS that well-functioning cross-border capital markets benefit the smooth transmission of monetary policy and facilitate more private risk-sharing, thus contributing to making the EU-28, including the euro area, more resilient to shocks; 

6. SUPPORTS accordingly the following priority areas, including those identified by the Commission:

• increasing the variety of financing sources available for all businesses, in particular SMEs and small mid caps, from smaller or larger financial markets, including high-growth potential and innovative SMEs, and building on successful solutions for connecting them to a wider basis of prospective investors. This should be achieved by using a balanced approach based amongst others on market-led initiatives and self-regulation of the market where appropriate and possible, as well as legislative initiatives where unjustified barriers warrant an intervention from the legislator; and, especially by advancing the work streams in areas such as: the Prospectus Directive, Venture Capital, Crowdfunding, Private Placements, Mini Bonds, SME growth markets and SME credit information;
• ensuring an appropriate regulatory environment for long-term, sustainable investment and financing of Europe's infrastructure, including steps to attract private capital in order to realise the targets of the Investment Plan for Europe, and to assess and support financial market developments that contribute to environmental sustainability;
• increasing investment and choices for retail and institutional investors within a framework of adequate investor protection, beginning with the publication of a Green Paper focused on retail financial services and insurance in the last quarter of 2015, as well as through exploratory work on the potential merits of a European framework for long-term individual savings schemes such as third pillar personal pensions;
• enhancing the capacity of banks to lend, in particular to SMEs, notably through establishing an appropriate framework to revive simple, transparent and standardised securitisation, exploratory work on the potential merits of a European framework for covered bonds, building on national regimes that work well, by addressing the issue of Non-Performing Loans, and by ensuring a proportionate treatment for credit institutions, notably smaller ones, consistent with the single market;
• assessing the coherence, consistency and the cumulative impact of the financial reforms  on the financing of the real economy; and,
• examining and dismantling unjustified cross-border barriers to the development of capital markets for all 28 Member States, including where appropriate in the area of clearing and settlement and other market infrastructures, and also finding (through appropriate tax working groups) pragmatic solutions to long-standing tax obstacles such as double taxation linked to current withholding tax arrangements, while duly considering the implications on financial stability and national legal regimes;

7. CALLS for a swift adoption of the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common rules on securitisation and creating a framework for simple, transparent, and standardised securitisation and amending Directives 2009/65/EC, 2009/138/EC, 2011/61/EU and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 648/2012 and of the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms, with the aim of reviving securitisation markets, thereby increasing the capacity of banks to lend and allowing for channelling funds efficiently from non-banks to the real economy‎ and preserving financial stability, whilst decreasing overreliance on external ratings; and, maintaining an adequate risk sensitivity;

8. LOOKS FORWARD to the Commission's proposal to revise the Prospectus Directive to make it easier and cheaper for firms to raise funding on public markets by eliminating overly burdensome requirements while  improving investor protection, especially through the focus on relevant, comprehensible information;

9. STRESSES the importance of preserving financial stability objectives of financial legislation,  consumer and investor protection and the single market, including through the single rulebook, while taking good note of the Commission's intention to review this body of law to ensure coherence, internal consistency and proportionality, accordingly LOOKS FORWARD to the outcome of the Commission's Call for evidence on the EU regulatory framework for financial services; and, SUPPORTS the maintenance of a stable regulatory environment in the EU. 

10. INVITES the Commission, in the context of the relevant sectoral reviews, to assess the impact of third-country regimes, including equivalence and mutual recognition, in current regulations on the structure of European capital markets, the competitiveness of the European financial industry as well as effective access to third-country markets; 

11.    ENCOURAGES the Commission to consult, without delay, the Member States with a view to identifying  business insolvency law-related barriers to the development of a single market for capital, as referred to in the Action Plan; WELCOMES the Commission's intention to submit, on the basis of those consultations and having due regard to the complexity of the involved subject matters and the resulting need for taking a balanced approach, a proposal aiming to ensure, in full respect of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, that the main business insolvency-related obstacles identified are tackled, drawing on best practices and well-performing national frameworks; specifically, NOTES the possible need to establish, where necessary, a reasonable timeframe for completing insolvency proceedings and increasing transparency on the possible outcomes of insolvency procedures across the EU and improving access to early restructuring possibilities subject to further analysis; 

12. INVITES the Commission to present the outcome and possible follow-up of its study on the cross-border issues in the area of directors' liability and disqualifications as soon as possible;

13. NOTES THAT analysis by the Commission of possible barriers in other relevant areas, such as for instance securities law, may be needed before taking actions in these  areas to further facilitate cross-border investing; 

14. EMPHASIZES the Commission's conclusion that the next steps towards Capital Markets Union can be taken based on the existing mandates of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs); RECOGNISES the need for the ESAs to work on strengthening supervisory convergence, where appropriate through peer-review procedures and, if necessary, enhanced coordination, identifying where a more collective approach can improve the functioning of the single market for capital, including involving initiatives by national competent authorities; and STRESSES the need for all national authorities to implement EU financial rules fully and consistently in order to ensure the highest levels of conduct and integrity across the EU capital market; 

15. NOTES the importance of the Commission's plan to further analyse, in a White Paper, by mid-2016, the governance and financing of the ESAs, with due account of their European role; 

16. ACKNOWLEDGES the need to review the EU framework for preserving financial stability to cater for potential risks beyond the banking sector; 

17. REAFFIRMS the commitment of Member States to the long-term vision of a genuine Capital Markets Union, the objective of a higher level of financial integration and stronger capital market financing together with enhanced bank financing, thus leading to a more balanced financing structure between equity and debt of EU businesses and further cross-border private risk-sharing, and to the effective implementation of agreed CMU actions at national level; and, in this spirit, LOOKS FORWARD TO working with the Commission to develop a roadmap to identify existing barriers to the free movement of capital and ways to remove the most damaging and unjustified ones; and to discuss the proposal of the Commission  to address the debt-equity bias in taxation within the appropriate fora; and INVITES the Commission to continue the public debate on the ability of the EU financial industry to contribute to a successful CMU; 

18. ENCOURAGES the Commission and Member States to focus on addressing the issue of the  financial literacy of future investors and other market agents, which is important for the overall and balanced success of the CMU project; 

19. WELCOMES the Commission's intention to develop a strategy for providing technical assistance to Member States where needed to reinforce specific capacities of national capital markets; 

20. INVITES the Commission to report, at least every six months to the Council through the Financial Services Committee and the Economic Financial Committee, providing an evidence-based assessment of the progress made in the build-up of the Capital Markets Union including on the basis of key indicators and evidence.

 [1]  Doc. 10148/15 
 [2] Doc. 12263/15
 [3] Commission Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common rules on securitisation and creating a framework for simple, transparent, and standardised securitisation and amending Directives 2009/65/EC, 2009/138/EC, 2011/61/EU and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 648/2012; Commission Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms; Consultation Document on covered bonds, Consultation on venture capital and social entrepreneurship funds, Call for evidence on EU regulatory framework for financial services. 
 [4]  Completing Europe's Economic and Monetary Union: Report by the 5 Presidents. 

The public hearing will present an overview of the current CSDP partnerships with third countries and organisations, the possibilities of evolution and general tendencies.
Location : Altiero Spinelli 1G-2
Programme
Programme
Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

GSA and SGI v Parliament
Public procurement
The General Court dismisses an action involving the award of a public service contract by the European Parliament for the supply of fire security, assistance to persons and external surveillance at the European Parliament’s site in Brussels

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Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

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Relations between the EU and Georgia started in 1992. Bilateral relations have further intensified since the 2003 rose revolution which brought to power a new Georgian administration committed to an ambitious programme of political and economic reforms.

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From 21 to 25 September 2015 the bi-annual Congress of the German Association for Political Science (DVPW) took place at the University of Duisburg in Western Germany. More than 800 participants attended the event. As one of these participants, three observations seemed to be of particular interest to me.

First, in comparison to the previous congress in Tübingen, in 2013, the proportion of international papers and paper-givers had hugely increased and gave the conference a much more international atmosphere than before.

Second, while grass-roots democracy is very much alive in this association, it is not always to the advantage of its membership! The elections of the new Chair and Committee of Governors was one such example where meddling behind the scenes and public anger about it clashed in the general assembly. It took six hours to get to the elections only to find two hours later that the newly elected Chair, Michael Zürn, had already resigned! Highly divisive, in this assembly the good and great of German political science dismantled each other to a degree that the new Committee of Governors, which remained in place after the resignation of the chair, decided only to stay for one year, rather than the normal three years, and use that time mainly to revise electoral procedures in the DVPW. They will surely consider online voting, such as in other big academic organisations such as the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES), but one way or another it will be a lost year for making the DVPW more relevant through more internationalisation, for example.

Thirdly, during the 5 days of the congress, there was a wide thematic variety of panels, from political economy to international politics and environmental policies. Most of these panels touched in their contents on the most important political phenomenon of our time, the European Union, but hardly any mentioned it by name or saw the importance of European Union aspects in their particular analyses.There was only one silver lining on the horizon, the Working Group for (European) Integration, but with about 10 people in the audience this remained a side-line panel. Quite curious for a political science association…

The question arises whether German political science is so inward-looking now that it doesn’t even notice European integration any more. In other words: does it mean that the famous ‘re-nationalisation’ of politics in Europe is not only conducted by governments but also by researchers? It is perhaps a sign of our time in which the EU seems to drift more and more into oblivion while at the same time it is becoming increasingly needed for key policies, such as the refugee crisis.

Thomas Hoerber, EU-Asia Institute,
ESSCA School of Management

The post Don’t mention the EU! appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

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EU Ministers of Finance meet in Brussels on 10 November 2015 to try to reach a political agreement on the rules for bridge financing of the single resolution mechanism.

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Speeches by Donald TUSK, President of the European Council.

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Good evening and welcome to the Eurogroup press conference.
First of all we discussed the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) and specifically the setting up of the Single Resolution Board (SRB). Ms Elke König was with us and informed us on all the preparations they are doing to have the SRB up and running on the 1 January 2016. A lot of work has to be done - the organisation has to be put up, rules and regulations have to be designed etc., so we were very impressed by the work she has done so far and hope to welcome her in the Eurogroup on a more regular basis. There were two issues that she draw to our attention:

1. Setting up of the national credit lines. That will also be on the agenda of tomorrows Economic and Financial Affairs Council;
2. Timely ratification of the Intergovernmental Agreement and transposition of the BRRD by all the Member States.

I am happy to inform you that the Dutch Senate will vote on the last part of legislation tomorrow (10 November 2015) so knock on wood. Then we will have our work done, and all that in preparation for 1 January 2016, of course.

The second issue on our agenda was Greece. We were informed by the Commission, the ECB and the IMF on the state of play, and by the ESM. A lot of progress and work has been done in terms of programme implementation, further development and it has been a very cooperative process. This has been emphasised by all sides. So that was very good news.

We've also taken stock of the ongoing recapitalisation exercise with Greek banks. There too a lot of work has been done and the size of the recapitalisation is smaller than expected earlier, and actually the speed of the process is also going quite smoothly so far. The next thing to do is to have all the financial sector measures in place before the completion of the recapitalisation process. Our Greek colleague Efkleidis Tsakalotos gave his commitment to get that done. There are open issues which you may have heard about which have to do with nonperforming loans, and more specifically household insolvency. So more work needs to be done to get an agreement also on those issues. Implementation needs to be finished over the course of the coming week. All of that is necessary to finalise the process of the recapitalisation. As you remember €10 billion has already been put in a segregated account in the ESM, which is ready if needed and when needed for the recapitalisation process, but of course the agreed conditions need to be met.

So there are two key issues - one is about the governance of the banks, and the other key issue still to be resolved is about household insolvency. So those conditions are to be met in the coming days. We have mandated the Euro Working Group to reconvene at the latest at the beginning of the next week to take stock of the compliance report from the institutions. Hopefully the whole first set will be implemented, but also some of the key issues regarding the governance of the banks will be put in place. And then at the beginning of the next week the EWG can assess that and come to a positive conclusion, which will then be followed by an ESM Board of Governance meeting because they in the end have to take the decisions to make available the €10 billion, or less if less is needed at that point. So that's the process that we've outlined for the coming days and we are all committed to get that done in time. 

Let me quickly mention a couple of other issues on our agenda. We were informed, on the basis of the autumn forecast, of the ongoing economic recovery in the euro area. The recovery will continue despite some global economic issues which we are all aware off. There was great consensus that at the same time we need to use this period and the benign circumstances to push forward structural reforms to get higher potential growth in the euro area. 

On the future of the monetary union, we had an initial exchange of views on the follow-up to the 5 Presidents' report. In October the Commission presented its first proposals on economic governance and today we had a first round of debate on that, and specifically on external representation. Not much I can say about that. It was a first round, and on some other issues like the Fiscal Board and the Competitiveness Authorities. The debate on those governance issues will be on the Ecofin agenda tomorrow, so we'll pick up on that from there. 

These were the main highlights from me.

The Council, in full cooperation with the Commission, having in mind the necessity to safeguard the functioning of the Schengen area and to reduce migratory pressures, agreed the following measures to implement fully the orientations already agreed by the European Council and the Council in compliance with EU acquis. It decided:

1.             to encourage Member States and relevant third countries to intensify ongoing efforts to substantially increase reception capacities, for which the Council welcomes rapid identification by the Commission of additional financial support for affected countries and for the UNHCR;

2.             that the establishment of hotspots in Italy and Greece will be intensified, with support of the Member States, the Commission, Frontex and EASO, so that all of these function by end of November 2015 as previously agreed;

3.             that all participating Member States will speed up the relocation process, notably by communicating their capacities for first relocations and by nominating as appropriate relocation liaison officers to Italy and Greece, preferably by 16 November 2015. In parallel, Italy and Greece will substantially accelerate the preparatory steps necessary for relocation. The Council and the Commission support Italy and Greece in their decisions to register migrants before further handling their case on the mainland, in particular with Eurodac machines provided by Member States. Member States endeavour to fill by 16 November 2015 the remaining gaps in the calls for contribution from Frontex and EASO, which will simplify the profiles required and the appointing procedures;

4.             that Member States, with the full support of the Commission and Frontex, will substantially improve the return rate. Member States should also provide return experts for the pool of European Return Liaison Officers for rapid deployment;

5.             that Member States, to overcome the potential lack of cooperation of migrants as they arrive into the European Union and while fully respecting the fundamental rights and the principle of non-refoulement, will make use of possibilities provided by the EU acquis, such as (1) asylum procedures at borders or transit zones; (2) accelerated procedures; (3) non-admissibility of subsequent asylum applications by the individuals concerned; (4) coercive measures, including, as a last resort, detention for a maximum period necessary for the completion of underlying procedures. In addition to existing guidelines on systematic fingerprinting, the Commission is invited to issue, in cooperation with EASO and Frontex, further practical guidance on the consequences of the registering obligations in the light of the Dublin rules, the relocation decisions and the international readmission obligations.

Furthermore, the Council agrees to explore the concept of processing centres in countries where the hotspot approach has not been implemented, supported by the Commission and relevant EU agencies, in order to organise access to international protection and/or for the purpose of return;

6.             to fully support the Commission in pursuing contingency planning of humanitarian assistance for the Western Balkans, in light of the approaching winter. The Union civil protection mechanism should be used to the maximum possible extent. The Council encourages Member States to provide further assistance through this mechanism;

7.             as regards controls for entry and exit at external borders, to assist the Member States concerned in respecting their legal obligation to perform adequate controls, to manage and to regain controls of the external borders and increase coordination of actions relating to border management. This will involve a range of supporting measures by Frontex, gradually extending, as necessary, to the deployment of Rapid Border Intervention Teams (RABITs) in accordance with EU rules;

8.             to support the upscaling by 1 December 2015 of the Poseidon Sea Joint Operation in Greece within the current operational plan;

9.             to conduct at the December Justice and Home Affairs Council, on the basis of the 8th bi-annual reporting by the Commission, a thorough debate on the functioning of the Schengen area (1 May 2015 - 31 October 2015) and on the lessons learned from temporary reintroductions of controls at internal borders;

10.         to invite Europol to accelerate the establishment of the European Migrant Smuggling Centre (EMSC) to strengthen its capacity to support Member States in better preventing and fighting against migrant smuggling. The EMSC will encompass the Joint Operational Team (JOT) Mare initiative and further extend Europol actions, including with a focus on the Western Balkans area, in close cooperation with all relevant EU agencies, and in particular Frontex and Eurojust. The swift and effective deployment of officers at the hotspots on key migratory routes should be a component of this approach;

11.         to invite Member States, in coordination with the Commission, to set up by 1 December 2015 a network of single operational contact points on migrant smuggling, as set out in the EU Action Plan against Migrant Smuggling 2015-2020, while stepping up their efforts to intensify investigation and prosecution of migrant smugglers and traffickers;

12.         to continue examining pending legislative proposals on a crisis relocation mechanism and on safe countries of origin as already planned, as well as on other priority actions such as on the adaptation of the Dublin system and on the gradual establishment of an integrated management system for external borders;

13.         to invite the Commission and the High Representative to press for practical results on return and readmission in their bilateral dialogues, notably during the upcoming high-level meetings with Afghanistan, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tunisia and Turkey. By its next meeting on 3-4 December, the Council expects a first progress report on these dialogues. This will allow to exchange views on the appropriate incentive packages to be used vis-à-vis third countries;

14.         that the first European Migration Liaison Officers (EMLOs) should be deployed as a matter of priority to Ethiopia, Niger, Pakistan and Serbia by the end of January 2016;

15.         to reiterate the importance of Member States' resettlement activities to address the migration crisis, noting progress on this so far including at EU level. The Council agrees that further efforts should be made to enhance resettlement opportunities with an emphasis on certain priority third countries. It invites the Commission to continue its work on resettlement as a matter of priority;

16.         in order to secure concrete steps on border control, on the prevention of irregular migration and on the fight against trafficking and smuggling of migrants, to support accelerating the fulfilment of the visa liberalisation roadmap with Turkey towards all participating Member States and the full implementation of the readmission agreement, in the context of the enhanced cooperation foreseen in the action plan;

17.         to define, as a matter of urgency, a common information strategy addressed to asylum seekers, migrants, smugglers and traffickers aiming at (1) discouraging migrants to embark on perilous journey and to have recourse to smugglers, (2) explaining how EU rules on the management of external borders and international protection operate, including resettlement, relocation and return, (3) disseminating counter-narratives to the ones being used by the traffickers and smugglers of migrants, (4) informing about criminal prosecutions against traffickers and smugglers and (5) informing about return operations. As part of an information strategy geared at reducing pull factors, it should be clearly explained that migrants must register in their first Member State of arrival; that, under EU law, asylum seekers have no right to choose the Member State responsible for examining their application; and that migrants without a need of protection will be swiftly returned. Furthermore, a clear message should be passed that migrants cannot refuse to cooperate with the relevant national authorities. Henceforth, all necessary measures will be taken by Member States to prevent, deter and draw the consequences of such movements and non-cooperation. The Commission will pull together in the coming days a dedicated team from all relevant institutional actors to deliver on these objectives and will inform about the implementation at the Council meeting on 3-4 December 2015; 

18.             to support the Presidency's decision to upgrade the activation of the Integrated Political Crisis Response (IPCR) from information-sharing to full activation mode including by providing information to feed the ISAA process, by contributing to the identification of operational gaps and by supporting communication activities, thereby improving political coordination and decision-making process at EU level. In this framework, on the basis of the needs and gaps identified in the ISAA reports, roundtables will be convened regularly for the management of the migration crisis, bringing together appropriate expertise in order to allow a timely policy coordination and response at EU level, in particular on the implementation of interlinked measures on borders, reception capacities, hotspots and returns, on financial and human resources pledges and on operational and logistical priorities.

The Council (Competitiveness) took stock of the serious challenges faced currently by the European Steel industry. 

The EU steel sector suffers from major global overcapacity in production, which pushes down prices and encourages trade distorting behaviour from competing regions. High energy costs are eroding margins. And the resulting closure of steel plants is costing thousands of jobs. 

The Council agreed on the gravity of the situation as well as on the need to take concrete actions that will help ensure the long-term viability of a modern European steel sector. 

The Council also considered that these measures should be part of a comprehensive approach aiming at creating competitive framework conditions for EU industry as a whole, including through a predictable and consistent regulatory environment as well as measures to stimulate innovation, since many of the issues faced by the steel sector are shared by other energy intensive industries. 

Taking into account the results of the Council discussion, the Presidency considers that the following concrete actions should be taken as a matter of priority: 

• To intensify or launch discussions involving all important steel producers in the context of the OECD Steel Committee and through the Commission's bilateral steel dialogues with third countries like China, Russia, Belarus, Turkey and India.
• To make full and timely use of the full range of EU trade policy instruments to ensure a global level playing field and to address restrictive measures in third countries in particular as regards the steel sector.
• To take a constructive approach when it comes to the modernisation of Trade Defense Instruments that further streamline and expedite their operation, increase transparency, predictability, effectiveness and enforcement.
• To further improve access for the EU steel industry to third markets, including through public procurement, through bilateral and multilateral negotiations and implementation.
• To make full use of the Investment Plan for Europe to upgrade and modernise the steel sector through use of the European Investment Advisory Hub and the European Fund for Strategic Investments.
• To make best use of the possibilities given under the revised State Aid rules to support Energy Intensive Industries in R&D&I, training, environment, employment and ETS costs.
• To improve the competitiveness of sectors most at risk of carbon leakage, including the steel industry, by considering, as part of the reform of the European emissions trading system (“EU ETS”):
  - a more focused mechanism for free allocation of allowances, for example through a tiered approach;
  - elements to minimise the need for a cross-sectoral correction factor by the end of ETS phase IV, while creating the right incentives for industrial innovation and enhancing the possibility to increase production levels, in line with the conclusions of the October 2014 European Council.
• To support the swift implementation of the European Energy Union to ensure access to secure, affordable and climate-friendly energy.
• To fully exploit the possibilities under the forthcoming Communication on the Circular Economy.
• To make best use of the available EU instruments and funding, such as the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund and the European Social Fund, for upskilling workers and facilitate their re-integration into the labour market in case of mass redundancies in any industrial sector, including the steel industry.

To follow up on this extraordinary meeting of the Competitiveness Council, it has been agreed to call for a special High Level stakeholders' conference, involving the social partners, to review the current situation and consider policy actions, in the context of the ongoing work of the High Level Group on Energy Intensive Industries.

The implementation of the 2013 European Steel Action Plan should be assessed in the context of that meeting.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Microloans help people in difficult social circumstances to find their way out of unemployment and poverty. Although generally associated with South Asia and Latin America, where the first initiatives were launched four decades ago, they are also increasingly used in Europe. In 2010, the EU launched the European Progress Microfinance Facility to improve conditions for borrowers to obtain small loans. On Tuesday the EP's employment committee votes on a report concerning its implementation.
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Microloans help people in difficult social circumstances to find their way out of unemployment and poverty. Although generally associated with South Asia and Latin America, where the first initiatives were launched four decades ago, they are also increasingly used in Europe. In 2010, the EU launched the European Progress Microfinance Facility to improve conditions for borrowers to obtain small loans. On Tuesday the EP's employment committee votes on a report concerning its implementation.
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The economic and monetary committee will debate the macroeconomic adjustment programme for Greece with Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Eurogroup president and chair of the Board of Governors of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), and Klaus Regling, the ESM managing director, on Tuesday at 17.00.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The economic and monetary committee will debate the macroeconomic adjustment programme for Greece with Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Eurogroup president and chair of the Board of Governors of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), and Klaus Regling, the ESM managing director, on Tuesday at 17.00.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The final round of the ninth edition of the 2015 LUX Film Prize competition starts in Brussels on Monday. It includes three screenings, live debates with audiences and two weeks in which the three shortlisted films –Mediterranea, Mustang and Urok (The Lesson) – will be shown at the EP, with MEPs voting for the winning film and audiences choosing their favourites.
Committee on Culture and Education

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP