EIOPA, in close coordination with the European Commission, has decided to deliver its advice to the European Commission at end December 2020, to take into account the importance of assessing the impact of the current Covid-19 situation on the Solvency II Review.

EIOPA earlier announced on 17 March 2020 that, in order to offer operational relief in reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic, the deadline of the information request for the holistic impact assessment of the 2020 Solvency II Review would be extended by two months, to 1 June 2020.

The new timing will allow an update of the holistic impact assessment in view of the impact of the pandemic on the financial markets and insurance business and to take that impact into account in EIOPA’s advice. The new timing strikes a balance between the need to use the opportunity of reviewing the Solvency II directive and the need for the advice to reflect recent developments.

In order to update the holistic impact assessment EIOPA will complement the ongoing information request with a collection of data with a reference date of 30 June 2020. That information request will be carried out from July to mid-September 2020. It will be addressed to a sub-sample of those subject to the ongoing information request and will be more focussed than that request.

EIOPA will continue to monitor the crisis and its impacts and will engage with all stakeholders in order to ensure a transparent process.

Read more about EIOPA’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic

The online meeting covered a monitoring framework for the upcoming strategic EU Framework for Equality, Inclusion and Participation for Roma until 2030.

In preparation for this meeting, FRA collected input from the EU National Roma Contact Points on FRA’s suggested framework of indicators on Roma equality, inclusion and participation.

The framework benefited also from earlier consultations with key civil society organisations working on Roma inclusion.

The meeting brought together 16 Member States with delegates from the governments and the statistical offices who joined in preparing to endorse the indicator framework. Four Member States shared their experience with collecting Roma data.

The Roma Working Party will continue in May 2020 discussing the process indicators in the monitoring framework. 

• UN-Habitat and European Investment Bank enhance support for sustainable urbanization across Africa and around the world
• New agreement recognises financing for well-planned cities that deliver jobs, reduce poverty and reflect climate change
• Cooperation in Mwanza to provide handwashing and community health education to reduce spread of COVID-19 in informal settlements

UN-Habitat, the United Nations Agency for Human Settlements and the European Investment Bank, the world’s largest international public bank, have agreed to increase cooperation to support sustainable urban investment across Africa and globally.

The new partnership enables shared best-practice, technical experience and support for urban projects to improve lives in cities. It will help cities tackle climate change, address poverty and gender inequalities and improve economic opportunities and social infrastructure.

UN-Habitat and the European Investment Bank also confirmed plans to provide handwashing stations and public health information for thousands of local residents in the Tanzanian city of Mwanza.

“UN-Habitat and the European Investment Bank share a good track record of enabling and supporting transformational urban investment around the world. UN-Habitat looks forward to working closely with the EIB and other international finance partners to ensure that cities can be a better place to live for future generations. Our teams on the ground in East Africa are already ensuring that the impact of long-term investment to improve water and sanitation around Lake Victoria can help to reduce the spread of coronavirus in Mwanza.” said Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat.

“New investment in cities must deliver benefits to citizens by successfully tackling broader challenges facing urban communities. Strengthened cooperation between UN-Habitat and the EIB will benefit millions of people living in cities across Africa and around the world by enhancing the impact of new investment to deliver sustainable development, climate action, health, education and economic opportunities in the years ahead,” said Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank.

“The European Investment Bank is committed to supporting high-impact urban investment with global partners and local authorities around the world. We are pleased that the closer partnership between the EU Bank and UN-Habitat is already delivering results in East Africa and ensuring that vulnerable communities will be more resilient to the coronavirus pandemic in the coming months,” he added.

Tackling the spread of coronavirus in Tanzania

UN-Habitat and the EIB will provide 14 dedicated handwashing stations to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in informal settlements in the Mwanza region of northern Tanzania.  Two thirds of people in the regional capital live in informal settlements and COVID-19 cases have already been confirmed in Mwanza.

“Rapid action is essential to slow the spread of corona virus and ensure that public health measures can better protect vulnerable communities. Around Lake Victoria the EIB is pleased to work with local and international partners to transform access to clean water and provision of improved sanitation. The quick response of Tanzanian authorities and UN-Habitat to provide handwashing stations demonstrates how well-managed cities can react to new challenges. The EIB, as part of Team Europe, looks forward to strengthening support for investment that improves lives and opportunities in cities across Africa in the months and years ahead,” said Ambroise Fayolle, European Investment Bank Vice President

“Public health is a priority for the Mwanza Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority and our close cooperation with UN-Habitat, European Investment Bank, AFD and KfW has transformed access to clean water and improved sanitation in our region in recent years. We welcome the rapid response to ensure that new handwashing stations can be rolled out in poor communities, as part of Tanzania’s national engagement to reduce the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The new handwashing stations demonstrate joint action between Tanzanian and international partners at a time of need,” said Leonard Msenyele, acting Manager Director of the Mwanza Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority.

The multiple tap handwashing stations will each include a 5,000 litre water tank, wash basins and soap will be placed in public places, markets and health centres. The new handwashing stations will be managed by trained volunteers from the local community who will provide guidance on effective handwashing. The volunteers will be provided with personal protective equipment, including face-masks and gloves, to reduce the risk of infection.

The Mwanza scheme will be supported by public health and education activities, including proper hygiene and handwashing practices.

The project will be implemented by the Mwanza Urban Water and Sanitation Company (MWAUWASA) which will also install 100 additional water standpipes in vulnerable communities and suspend water disconnections for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic.

The investment is part of the Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation project that is supporting large scale investment in Tanzania, Uganda,and Kenya. This is helping local partners to improve water infrastructure and is supported by UN-Habitat, the European Investment Bank, French Development Agency (AFD), German development bank (KfW) and the European Commission.

Background information:

Last year the EIB provided more than EUR 3 billion for new investment across Africa.

In recent years the EIB has supported transport, health, education, energy, water, climate action and business investment in hundreds of African towns and cities, including in Addis Ababa, Bamako, Cairo, Cape Town, Dakar, Kigali, Nairobi, and Tunis.

Ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic the European Investment Bank commissioned a new video to show the benefit of water investment for local communities.

https://www.eib.org/attachments/events/joint-communique-africa-day-04032020.pdf

• The first tranche worth €30 million will be immediately available via Erste Bank Montenegro to local SMEs, mid-caps and public entities as more favourable loans;
• EIB funds to support manufacturing, tourism and services – among the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic;
• EIB and EBM cooperation strengthens resilience of the Montenegrin economy, sustaining jobs and youth employment;

The European Investment Bank and Erste Bank Montenegro (EBM) have signed a €30 million loan to support small and medium enterprises and larger companies in Montenegro through working capital lines and investment loans. This is a first tranche of a loan worth €50 million the Erste applied for at the EU Bank. The funds will be available in form of more favourable commercial loans from Erste Bank Montenegro, to businesses operating across sectors such as tourism, manufacturing and services, among the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The EIB credit line will also be open to Montenegrin public entities, including municipalities, for investments in energy and health infrastructure projects.

The funding will help sustain the existing jobs for Montenegrin companies and ease their financial strain during the Covid-19 crisis by providing the much-need liquidity, thus enhancing resilience of the private and public sector in the country. Montenegrin companies creating youth employment opportunities under the European Youth Employment and Training for the Western Balkans (“EYET”) initiative will also be eligible to benefit from the loan. In the medium-term, the loan supports the Montenegro’s Economic Reform Programme (ERP) and the country’s accession in the European Union.

Matteo Rivellini, Head of EIB Lending Operations in Croatia, Slovenia and Western Balkans said: “As a member of the Team Europe, the EIB unlocked a €30 million immediate support package for the Montenegrin economy at time when such a support is key for tackling challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.  As one of the major foreign investors in Montenegro, we are glad our partnership with Erste Bank Montenegro is fostering local businesses by helping them to preserve jobs and meet their immediate liquidity needs.”

Aleksa Lukić, Erste Bank Montenegro Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are very pleased to continuing and further deepening the successful cooperation between our two institutions, particularly important in globally challenging times. Through this credit line we are able to offer additional funds under more favourable terms to our SME and MidCap clients and support them overcome the crisis as easy as possible, meeting their acute and their development needs. Additionaly, with this credit line we underscore our commitment to support public sector address public needs, providing financing for investment in energy and health infrastructure projects.” 

Aivo Orav, EU Ambassador and Head of EU Delegation to Montenegro said: “We very much welcome EIB’s support to Montenegro as part of a wider EU assistance package for the response to Covid-19. The EU is supporting Montenegro at all levels: delivering reliable testing kits, procuring lifesaving equipment and protective gear for the health workers, dedicating funds for the longer-term recovery with a focus on the health sector, economy and businesses as well as providing favourable loans. We hope that our mix of support instruments will assist Montenegro in an efficient way, on its road to recovery after this virus. We continue to stand by Montenegro, as the biggest donor, political and trade partner, showing EU solidarity at work.”

FRA referred to its paper on ‘Facial Recognition technology: fundamental rights considerations in the context of law enforcement’. It outlined the safeguards that should apply when considering deploying technology that uses biometric data to respond to public health. 

These include clear and detailed legal frameworks, strict necessity and proportionality testing and a defined purpose for the application, building fundamental rights in the technical specifications and procurement of the technology, and using fundamental rights impact assessments.

More than 100 participants attended the meeting, including representatives of EU Agencies, Member States and industry.