European Union

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for small investors.

Twitter Hashtag #EUandME

© Drobot Dean / Fotolia

Individual investors who buy securities for themselves (and not on behalf of a fund or a bank) have access to a growing range of investment products, funds and investment-linked insurance policies, also known as ‘packaged retail and insurance-based investment products’ (or PRIIPs), offered by banks and insurance companies. The financial crisis has shown that, when it comes to investing in financial products, the information supplied to investors is of the utmost importance.

That is why the European Union’s ‘PRIIPs Regulation’ obliges companies that produce or sell such investment products to provide investors with a ‘key information document’ (referred to as a KID) for each product.

This document should be at most three pages long (font size 8 to 11) and provide clear information on the product, allowing the investor to take an informed investment decision. It should include at the very least the name of the product and the identity of the producer, the types of investors for whom it is intended, the risk and reward profile of the product (including the maximum potential loss to the investor), the costs to the investor associated with investment in the product, and also information on the complaints an investor can make, in the event of problems with the product or the person producing, advising on or selling it.

Further information

• Investment products, https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/financial-products-and-services/investment-products/index_en.htm
• Key information about investment products, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/LSU/?uri=CELEX:32014R1286

Demands for a stronger EU and foreign policy, more commitments to NATO and concerns over Russia’s assertiveness were the leitmotifs as the 55th Munich Security Conference kicked off on Friday (15 February).

European Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis announced on Friday (15 February) he would run for president of Lithuania, after some dithering due to his current institutional position.

Weekly schedule of President Donald Tusk 18-25 February 2019.

The EU is taking measures to mitigate the severe disruption to air connectivity between the EU and the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

The EU is introducing a set of temporary and limited measures to ensure basic road freight and passenger connectivity in order to mitigate the most severe disruption in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Safer and more energy-efficient lorry cabs may enter the market in the EU from as early as 1 September 2020.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

The EU is introducing new rules which will ensure that products placed on the single market are safe and compliant with EU legislation protecting public interests, such as health and safety in general, health and safety at the workplace, consumers, the environment and public security.

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for child victims of sexual abuse.

Twitter Hashtag #EUandME

© kmiragaya / Fotolia

Did you know that, according to estimates, between 10 % and 20 % of children in Europe suffer sexual abuse before they turn 18? Abuse occurs mainly in their immediate environment, but the internet and new technologies have brought a new dimension to the sexual exploitation of children, which is sometimes of a commercial nature. Victims of online abuse experience high levels of re-victimisation as long after the abuse occurred their images can still be exploited on the web.

The EU has adopted legislation to combat this very serious crime, criminalising a wide range of behaviours, both offline and online, including grooming and webcam sexual abuse, and introducing not only higher penalties, but also preventive measures. The law requires EU countries to ensure that perpetrators are disqualified from professional activities involving contact with children, and facilitates the exchange of information on convictions via the EU criminal records system. EU countries are also required to remove webpages containing or disseminating child pornography promptly. The law aims to protect child victims in criminal investigations and proceedings, and to safeguard their privacy and identity. Moreover, child sexual exploitation is a priority under the EU plan for combating serious crime, in which the EU police agency (Europol) plays an important role.

The public can also help, by taking part in the Europol’s Trace an object campaign, helping to identify the origin of an object linked to investigations, or by contacting the INHOPE network of hotlines to report suspicious online content.

Further information

• EPRS publication on combating sexual abuse of children, 2017, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_STU(2017)598614
• European Commission webpage on child sexual abuse, https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/organized-crime-and-human-trafficking/child-sexual-abuse_en
• INHOPE – International Association of Internet Hotlines, http://www.inhope.org/gns/home.aspx

On 15 February, EU ambassadors endorsed the agreement reached with the Parliament on the reform on banks' capital requirements and recovery and resolution rules.

Written by Marcin Grajewski,

© weyo / Fotolia

The euro marked its 20th anniversary in January 2019, as debates continued about the single currency’s track-record and the shape of future reform. When the 11 original members of the euro area irrevocably fixed their exchange rates in 1999 and transferred authority over their monetary policies to the European Central Bank, the currency’s advocates hailed the move as the crowning achievement of European integration. Whilist some economists have blamed the euro-zone’s one-size-fits-all approach to interest rates for weakening growth and increasing economic divergencies between certain countries, others have pointed to the euro’s role in underpinning the single makret as well as offering resilience to Europe in withstanding the 2008-09 financial crisis and its aftermath. Opinion polls shows the euro continues to be popular among the citizens.

This note brings together commentaries, analyses and studies by major international think tanks and research institutes on the euro’s merits, its future and related issues. Earlier publications on the topics can be found in a previous edition of the series published in November 2018.

Comment accroître le rayonnement international de l’euro?
Confrontation Europe, February 2019

Twenty years of the euro: Resilience in the face of unexpected challenges
Centre for European Policy Studies, January 2019

Euroframe report 2019: Economic assessment of the euro area
Institut für Weltwirtschaft Kiel, January 2019

An anatomy of inclusive growth in Europe
Bruegel, January 2019

The euro turns 20
Centre for European Policy Studies, January 2019

The euro’s global dreams and nightmares
Centre for European Policy Studies, January 2019

Mapping the conflict between EU member states over reform of the euro zone
LSE Ideas, January 2019

Non-euro countries in the EU after Brexit
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, January 2019

The euro as an international currency
Bruegel, December 2018

Can the euro rival the dollar?
Centre for European Reform, December 2018

The euro: It must change to carry on
Globsec Policy Institute, December 2018

Rebalancing the euro area: A proposal for future reform
Wilfried Martens Centre, December 2018

Does the Eurogroup’s reform of the ESM toolkit represent real progress?
Bruegel, December 2018

The unbalanced monetary union
LUISS School of European Political Economy, December 2018

Deutschland, Frankreich und Italien im Euroraum: Ursprünge, Merkmale und Folgen der begrenzten Konvergenz
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, December 2018

A better European architecture to fight money laundering
Peterson Institute for International Economics, December 2018

Forecast errors and monetary policy normalisation in the euro area
Bruegel, December 2018

Which structural reforms does E(M)U need to function properly?
Wiener Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche, December 2018

Fixing the roof while the sun is shining
Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft, December 2018

The euro zone: A monetary union without a capital market
LUISS School of European Political Economy, December 2018

The international role of the euro
Bruegel, December 2018

Growth prospects, the natural interest rate, and monetary policy
Institut für Weltwirtschaft Kiel, January 2019

On German external imbalances
Centre for European Policy Studies, November 2018

EMU: Holding the supervisor to account
Jacques Delors Institute, November 2018

Comment la Banque centrale européenne a perdu son âme
Institut Thomas More, November 2018

Sovereign risk and asset market dynamics in the euro area
Centre d’Etudes Prospectives et d’Informations Internationales, November 2018

Euro-area sovereign bond holdings: An update on the impact of quantitative easing
Bruegel, November 2018

La sauvegarde de l’euro n’est pas qu’une question économique
Centre d’Etudes Prospectives et d’Informations Internationales, November 2018

Read this ‘at a glance’ note on ‘The euro at 20‘ on the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

EU probes into Hungary and Poland on rule of law and democracy are back on the agenda of EU affairs ministers - but with little guidance from the Romanian presidency, without a clear idea where the procedures are headed.

Spain wrapped up a dizzying week as Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called early elections for 28 April. It will be the third time Spaniards go to the ballot box in four years, with the political scene thrown wide open by recent developments. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on Friday (15 February) for snap elections on 28 April, only nine months after he took office, after failing to secure the Parliament’s support for his 2019 budget.

There can be no more excuses for business. They will be held for responsible for their failure to take action to prevent the risk of human and labour rights through their supply chains.

Brexit talks will continue in Brussels, as UK PM Theresa May's government is trying to find a way out of the political impasse at home. Murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee will speak at the European Parliament next week.

New rules on the internal electricity market, part of the Clean Energy Package (CEP), will soon be adopted. Volume, time pressure, complexity, and political weight took a toll on legislative quality – possibly leading to cumbersome implementation, writes Juliusz Kowalczyk.

Written by Angelos Delivorias and Ioannis Zachariadis (1st edition),

© NicoElNino / Fotolia

Since its launch in November 2014, the Investment Plan for Europe (IPE) has had considerable success in mobilising private investment across Europe. Despite its success, investment levels in Europe remain below pre-crisis levels. There is therefore a need to provide for an extended EU investment programme under the new multiannual financial framework (MFF), which caters for multiple objectives in terms of simplification, flexibility, synergies and coherence across relevant EU policies. The InvestEU programme, expected to run from 2021 onwards, has been designed to address this challenge. It will bring diverse EU financial instruments within a single structure, making EU funding for investment projects in Europe simpler and more efficient and flexible. It will build on the success achieved by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and consist of the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal.

Versions

• February 2019: ‘The InvestEU programme: Continuing EFSI in the next MFF‘ (1st edition)

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the InvestEU programme Committees responsible: Budgets (BUDG) and Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) – jointly under Rule 55 COM(2018) 439 of 6.6.2018 Rapporteurs: José Manuel Fernandes (EPP, Portugal)
Roberto Gualtieri (S&D, Italy) 2018/0229(COD) Shadow rapporteurs: Othmar Karas (EPP, Austria)
Eider Gardiazabal Rubial (S&D, Spain)
Bernd Kölmel (ECR, Germany)
Ralph Packet (ECR, Belgium)
Nils Torvalds (ALDE, Finland)
Ramon Tremosa I Balcells (ALDE, Spain)
Liadh Ni Riada (GUE/NGL, Ireland)
Dimitrios Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL, Greece)
Sven Giegold (Greens/EFA, Germany)
Jordi Solé (Greens/EFA, Spain)
Marco Valli (EFDD, Italy)
Barbara Kappel (ENF, Austria) Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Next steps expected: Trilogue negotiations