Article – Understanding Covid-19's impact on women (infographics)
A year after the coronavirus outbreak, the social and economic fallout could have a long-term impact on gender equality, threatening the progress made and potentially pushing an additional 47 million women and girls below the poverty line worldwide.
Last year marked the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the UN’s Beijing Declaration aimed at the advancement of women around the globe, but there is still a long way to go before gender equality is achieved. According to the European Institute for Gender Equality’s Index 2020 (based on data from 2018), the EU scores 67.9% on gender equality and is at least 60 years away from reaching complete equality at the current pace.
Of the 49 million care workers in the EU, who have been most exposed to the virus, around 76% are women.
The biggest EU imbalance was in Latvia – with women making up 88% of the healthcare work force, compared to 53% in Malta).
In addition, women are over-represented in essential services ranging from sales to childcare places, which remained open during the pandemic. In the EU, women account for 82% of all cashiers and represent 95% of workers in domestic cleaning and home help fields.
The aim of Alicante News is to provide up-to-date information on EUIPO-related matters, as well as on other general IP issues, to the users of the EU trade mark and design registration systems.
In this issue:
New EUIPO Examination Guidelines enter into force
IP Mediation Conference: Online event, 22-23 March
European Cooperation: new e-services in Lithuania
WIPO-EUIPO Joint Work Programme
AfrIPI: Integration of IP tools
Statistical Highlights
EUIPO short film released: The IP Link
Goodbye old technology, hello new
China: EUTM and RCD Focus
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Start of the Non-Life Underwriting Risk Comparative Study in Internal Models
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) launched today a European-wide comparative study on non-life underwriting risk in internal models (NLCS 2020).
The objective of the study is to analyse the relative positioning of non-life internal models and to provide a European perspective for their risk profile developments over the time horizon of five years. Therefore, this exercise covers internal models results from the Solvency II implementation in 2016 to the first annual submission in 2020, including the first COVID-19 impact assessment of the industry.
The study will collect the overall non-life underwriting risk and its decomposition at a European level. Furthermore, it will analyse in depth a number of selected lines of business to identify dominating factors for motor, fire and general liability as well as credit and suretyship. The exercise will allow undertakings to report their view on risk while using a technically sound point of reference as provided by Solvency II.
The design of the study is based on best practices from national competent authorities and includes informal feedback received through stakeholder outreach. The sample of the study covers insurers and reinsurers selected for participation and achieves a high coverage of undertakings using an internal model for non-life underwriting risk. Undertakings also taking part in the comparative study on diversification must ensure a consistent submission of information as the information request has been developed jointly for both studies.
The data collection phase starts with the launch of this exercise and ends on 15 September 2021.
Georgia: Team Europe – EIB’s immediate COVID-19 response in support of the MSME sector reaches a new milestone
The EU bank will extend COVID-19 response measures to the existing credit line at Liberty Bank for a total of €17.5 million, including a €2.5 million multi-currency top-up
Loan reinforces Team Europe’s support for the recovery of Georgian MSMEs from the COVID-19 pandemic and will sustain jobs, maintain liquidity and operations, and fuel the economic recovery of Georgia
In 2020 alone, EIB provided €70 million to support faster recovery of Georgian businesses from COVID-19 pandemic
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union, and Liberty Bank have agreed to expand an existing credit line for Georgian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) via an additional €2.5 million as part of a total package of €17.5 million. With this signature, the EIB’s total immediate response to COVID-19 in the country comprises additional lending of over €70 million, and existing loans benefiting from COVID measures exceeding €90 million.
The EIB loans inject fresh capital into the domestic financial market at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is burdening SMEs with liquidity issues and restricting their ability to access finance for maintaining daily operations or funding expansion plans.
The loan agreement was signed in the presence of Charles Michel, President of the European Council.
EIB President Werner Hoyer said:“Team Europe and the EIB will continue to build up our support for Georgian MSMEs and fuel the economic and social recovery of the country’s economy from COVID-19. Last year alone we boosted Georgian recovery from COVID-19 with support worth €170 million: €70 million in new lending for MSMEs, and €100 million to reinforce the national healthcare sector’s ability to deal with the pandemic. Today, the EIB has increased both the amount and the attractiveness of our loans available to MSMEs as this is the first loan that the EU bank has provided to a counterpart in Georgia in local currency. We look forward to maintaining our position as the trusted ally of the Republic of Georgia and a key source of support for sustainable social and economic development.”
CEO of Liberty Bank Vasil Khodeli commented: “I would like to thank the EIB and the European Union for their continuous support and the confidence they have shown in Liberty Bank. Thanks to the increased loan amount, Liberty Bank will unlock significant additional lending for MSMEs in Georgia. The coronavirus pandemic has hit MSMEs very hard and this facility will provide much-needed support for our clients to overcome short-term liquidity shortages, maintain jobs and support economic recovery in the upcoming months. The additional multi-currency facility equivalent to GEL 10 million includes the possibility to make financing available in local currency, which provides us with greater flexibility to finance and support a wider range of MSME businesses in Georgia. This is also a further sign of our commitment to help businesses of all sizes to get through these turbulent times.”
Further increasing affordability of EIB loans
The financing introduces the option to make funding available in synthetic lari, Georgia’s national currency, and increases the affordability of loans for MSMEs. The expansion will help Georgian MSMEs sustain jobs, maintain liquidity to continue operations and fuel Georgia’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The investment from the EU bank forms part of the EIB’s SME Outreach Initiative, which promotes access to finance for MSMEs by supporting smaller local banks to better service their clients. MSMEs are the backbone of the Georgian economy and are major employers in the country. The loan expansion comes with a €450 000 technical assistance component to help Liberty Bank improve and expand its offer for MSMEs.
Team Europe adds value for Georgian companies
Covered by a guarantee from the European Union, the loan from the EU bank will enable an increase in lending activities to MSMEs without jeopardising the long-term stability of the country’s financial sector or its ability to support the economic recovery from the pandemic in the long term.
This credit line comes with increased attractiveness to SMEs benefiting from the more flexible lending terms enabled by the EIB’s COVID-19 emergency measures. These measures are extended as part of Team Europe’s efforts to support Georgia and other EU partner countries during the pandemic.
To date, the EU bank has invested more than €290 million in credit lines for Georgian businesses, sustaining more than 54 000 jobs in the country.
Background information:
The EIB in Georgia:
The EU bank has been supporting the economic and social development of Georgia since 2007, providing some €1.85 billion to the local economy to date. The EU bank’s activities in the country have supported key infrastructure projects (€1 billion), MSMEs and mid-caps (€290 million), municipal infrastructure (€280 million) and green energy generation projects (€23.5 million). COVID-19 recovery activities in 2020 totalled €170 million.
Georgia is among a few non-EU countries eligible to benefit from European Investment Fund (EIF) operations, designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with risk-sharing instruments. Today, the EIB Group portfolio of guarantees in Georgia covers €382.9 million of SME loans.
The EIB finances most projects in Georgia under the EU External Lending Mandate. This provides the EIB with a guarantee covered by the EU budget for projects in the fields of social and economic infrastructure, local private sector development and climate action. Projects may also benefit from EU grants made available under the DCFTA (Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area) programme funded by the NIP (Neighbourhood Investment Platform), which amongst others promotes the EIB’s efforts to make funding available in local currency.
For more information on the EIB’s activities in Georgia please follow this link.
Liberty Bank is one of the largest banks in Georgia, with total assets of over GEL 2 billion and capital of GEL 200 million. The bank operates the largest branch network comprising over 360 branches and 570 ATMs. It is the exclusive agent of the Government of Georgia for the distribution of pensions and social benefits. Liberty Bank has more than 4 600 employees serving over 1.7 million customers.
ESMA delivers statement on Cum-Ex/Cum-Cum at EP Subcommittee on Tax Matters
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, represented by Mr Fabrizio Planta, Head of Markets and Data Reporting Department, addressed yesterday the Members of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Fiscal Matters regarding the “Cum-Ex/Cum-Cum” tax fraud scandal. He referred to the past and prospective role of ESMA, and the recommendations and conclusions of the Final Report on the inquiry.
Mr Planta shared the floor with Ms Olaya Argueso Perez, Editor in Chief at Correctiv, and Prof. Christoph Spengel, Professor of International Business Taxation at Mannheim University and Scientific Council of the German Federal Ministry of Finance.
In September 2020, ESMA published its Final Report on its inquiry into Cum/Ex, Cum/Cum and withholding tax (WHT) reclaim schemes. ESMA’s key proposal was that national competent authorities for securities markets should be empowered to share information with the tax authorities, to assist in detecting WHT reclaim schemes.
