I would like to join Ursula (von der Leyen) in thanking you warmly for your participation today.

Only a shared spirit of global solidarity and responsibility will defeat the COVID-19 crisis.

This common spirit is our best defence against a virus that has devastated lives and communities in every corner of the globe.

People are fighting the virus on every continent.

Different countries have responded with different measures. But we all have one thing in common.

Only the development, production and deployment of vaccines and treatments will relegate the virus to the archives of history.

Without these, we can demand the hardest sacrifices from our citizens, or design the most ambitious recovery plans, the threat will always be there.

These vaccines, treatments and therapies will be crucial for Europe. But even more critical for our most vulnerable partners with fragile health systems, such as Africa. They must be at the heart of our solidarity.

The picture is not all bleak. Across history, human beings have displayed a surprising capacity to innovate and bounce back from disaster.

Over the next months, great minds in laboratories across the world will join forces to defeat the virus. They are doing so as we speak.

But victory will take more than great minds. It will take focus. It will take strong international cooperation on vaccines every step of the way. It will also take a firm commitment to multilateral institutions.

And it will take resources – 7,5 billion euros – just to kick-start our efforts.

It may seem like a lot. But the cost of inaction would be far greater. Both in lives and resources.

The scope of our response must match the scope of the crisis.

Today, we have a clear goal: to accelerate the development, manufacture and delivery of vaccines, tests and treatments to everyone, everywhere, at an affordable price.

These are dark days. But they are also days that reveal our humanity. We are confident humanity will step up and shine.

This pledging summit is a confident step in that direction.

PK!1ˆ‰�� [Content_Types].xml �(��–�n�0E���…D’-Š��œE�6@S�[š�D�9N��P�…”U”��‚lX3��C‘�f~����ƒ˜�w5��f�’��nU�Ÿ7_��H(œ�;���Z�~5��H�]��1|�<��5X‘*�Q��� ��q�ƒ��b�r6{ϥwK�l1���,�l�qG�aŧ�/G�L۬�–��5�5��”‚I$”��@��;���ܯ�”e�“�:�7��HB�<���}� ˆZAq-“~–��Š+/7–”��6œ�i�„^Ÿ�B�R�����+Vhw��›„���†k{}H’���”j���‘—/���`x���t�„H’����…H�3��O���” ��;�”����d˜�‚4ޣ�8�n�֣��D�Q„5����/‚��}˜$�3>”Ÿ����{�Q�!����Dk�T$u�1 5�?–}˜’��G��}”YŸ�>ȣŠ���W�LŸ�p��—‹���PK!™U~��_rels/.rels �(��’MK1†�‚�!̽;�*”��^D�Md�C2�›’����(Š.Ե‡3y��3C�›��+�4xW�(A������yX�‚JB���Wp�›��b��#InJ�’�—*�E�b�=[J…��M�%���a �B�,o0�f@=a��� n�����o�A��;�N�<���v†�”��e�Ө†b�R���1—REF7Z�n��hYȐjy��#1’�<��Š�‰›7 š��œ��9m�.‰����3�„“�Y���PK!��”�‚Š word/_rels/document.xml.rels �(��”�N�0„�H�C�;q’–_5�!� E���›�”�#{��1�šh��w”�?��f2�’]�� �J’�I@Uš�”�u�tuG‹Lq�i%Yƒ%�����:†�mEo�E�’�ˆ���jA2›�”�Rk#��4�g�;k�YvC��ƒL�L�$f���‹u���u-*x��J‚�W�OX��{œum™iK�‰��H�a�|“DH�žAl+�R��1ˆ��ʢ–o��Gš�U*�(d�mL�/˜�L�8O*E(•<����z›r+�!’�q�h�\nb��Z�‚-;�–A Rœ�“`BQ-����_–M4#��W%��uL�’K0�����Q)j�Œ?™?up�,&(��•�0�”��ܻ1���N�#ƒŒ%�’-0��Ŷ�‚�v�

The European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – ESAs), in response to the COVID-19 outbreak have published joint draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) to amend the Delegated Regulation on the risk mitigation techniques for non-centrally cleared OTC derivatives (bilateral margining), under the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), to incorporate a one-year deferral of the two implementation phases of the bilateral margining requirements.

The ESAs have intensified their coordination with national competent authorities (NCAs), as well as with relevant authorities from other jurisdictions in order to ensure adequate regulatory actions where needed during this crisis. In this context, these amending draft RTS were developed to facilitate further an internationally coordinated approach on how to adapt the implementation of the bilateral margin requirements.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) announced on 3 April  their agreement to defer by one year, the deadline for completing the final two implementation phases of the bilateral margin requirements, in order to provide additional operational capacity for counterparties to respond to the immediate impact of COVID-19. The ESAs draft RTS present the changes to the Delegated Regulation on bilateral margining to incorporate in the EU regulatory framework the one-year deferral agreed by the BCBS and IOSCO.

These changes would result in covered counterparties with an aggregate average notional amount of non-centrally cleared derivatives above €50 billion becoming subject to the requirement to exchange initial margin from 1 September 2021, while covered counterparties with an aggregate average notional amount of non-centrally cleared derivatives above €8 billion becoming subject to the requirement from 1 September 2022.

Legal basis and next steps

The ESAs have developed the RTS under Article 11(15) of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and Council on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories (EMIR).

A first version (ESAs 2019 20) of these draft RTS had been submitted to the Commission and published on the websites of the ESAs on 5 December 2019. This first version dealt with the treatment of physically settled FX forward and swap contracts, intragroup contracts, equity option contracts and the implementation of the initial margin requirements. However, in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Final Report and the draft RTS have now been updated to take into account the agreement from the BCBS and IOSCO to defer by one year the deadline for completing the final two implementation phases of the bilateral margin requirements. This updated version of the Final Report on the draft RTS on bilateral margining thus replaces entirely the version submitted to the Commission in December 2019.

The ESAs have now submitted this second version of the draft RTS to the Commission for endorsement in the form of a Commission Delegated Regulation, i.e. a legally binding instrument applicable in all Member States of the European Union. Following the endorsement, they are then subject to non-objection by the European Parliament and the Council.

Notes for editors

1. ESAs 2020 09 EMIR RTS on various amendments to the bilateral margin requirements in view of the international framework
2. The European Supervisory Authorities are:the European Banking Authority; the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority; and the European Securities and Markets Authority
3. The ESAs, along with the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), the Joint Committee of the ESAs, and the national competent or supervisory authorities of each Member State form the European
4. The main objective of the ESFS is to ensure that the rules applicable to the financial sector are adequately implemented in order to preserve financial stability and to promote confidence in the financial system as a whole, and provide sufficient protection for financial consumers

Further information

ESMA

David Cliffe
Team Leader – Communications
Tel:   +33 (0)1 58 36 43 24
Mob: +33 (0)6 42 48 29 06
Email: press@esma.europa.eu

EBA

Franca Rosa Congiu
Senior Press Officer
Tel: +33 (0) 1 8652 6907
Email: communications@eba.europa.eu

EIOPA

Claire Bose
Communications Officer
Tel: +49 69 951 119 213
Email: press@eiopa.europa.eu

The current health crisis and its consequences remain the immediate priority, but the European Parliament is also focusing on a strategy for the post-crisis period.

In a resolution adopted on 17 April, MEPs said the EU needs a massive recovery and reconstruction package with the Green Deal, a series of initiatives to make Europe’s economy sustainable, at its core to stimulate the economy and fight climate change.

Impact on carbon emissions

During the strict quarantine measures implemented across Europe, air pollution has declined due to reduced traffic and other economic activities. Major European cities have registered major decreases in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration, some by half.

The closure of offices, shutdown of industry and huge decline in travel have cut CO2 emissions. In the first quarter of 2020 it is expected to have cut demand for electricity as well.

Due to expectations about falling electricity demand and industrial activity, the price for allowances in the EU Emission Trading System fell by 40% between mid-February and mid- March 2020.

EU Climate Law

On 28 November 2019, the Parliament declared a climate emergency and called for all relevant EU legislation to be in line with the aim of keeping global warming to under 1.5°C.

The European Commission outlined the Green Deal in December, followed in March by a proposal for an EU Climate Law to make the EU climate neutral by 2050.

In January, Parliament called for more ambitious emission reduction targets than those proposed by the Commission to ensure the EU can meet the goal.

In a meeting held by Parliament’s environment committee on 21 April, Frans Timmermans, the Executive Vice-President of the Commission, said that the timetable for the EU Climate Law remains unchanged and promised a revised reduction target proposal for 2030 in September.

The Climate Law must be approved by the Parliament and the Council of Ministers before it can come into effect. Parliament wants the EU should adopt these targets well in advance of the COP26 UN Climate change conference, which has been postponed until 2021 due to the pandemic.

Find out what measures the EU has taken to combat the pandemic.