Opening the plenary session in Brussels, EP President David Sassoli said: “The decision to hold the session here in Brussels was taken in the spirit and intention of giving continuity to Parliament’s work”.

He added: “We must do everything, for as long as possible, to ensure the continuity of the EP’s legislative and budgetary function, the decisions to fight the COVID-19, to support jobs and the economy that have been hit hard. We also need to continue our work on the Green Deal, immigration and the Multiannual Financial Framework. All this requires us to stay in our place”.

He concluded: “We must honour our parliamentary mandate and pay tribute to all those in Europe and around the world who are carrying out their daily duties to contain the spread of the disease”.

That is why today the Conference of Presidents held and extraordinary meeting and decided to change the final draft agenda as follows.

Changes to the agenda

The March I part session will take place only on Tuesday 10 March.

From 9am until noon, there will be Council and Commission statements on Coronavirus outbreak, state of play and ensuring a coordinated European response to the health, economic and social impact.

At 3pm, there will be Council and Commission statements on the Conclusions of the special European Council meeting of 20 February 2020 on the Multiannual Financial framework.

Following this, there will be Council and Commission statements on the migration situation at the Greek-Turkish border and the EU’s common response to it.

“These changes were approved by the Conference of Presidents and the European Parliament wants to stay open and functional – but we need to take all necessary precautions and reduce activities to a minimum.”, said the President.

To watch the statement in full, click here

Outgoing Members

Matt CARTHY (GUE/NGL, Ireland) from 8 February

Incoming Members

Chris MACMANUS (NI, Ireland) from 6 March

The EIB supports the National Energy Saving Fund with a loan of EUR 150 million. The NEF, which was set up in 2014, now has a total of EUR 1 billion available to emit preferential loans of up to EUR 25,000 per housing unit to homeowners and homeowner associations who want to reduce their energy bills. These loans, with an advantageous interest rate, are intended for financing energy efficiency measures such as insulation, or more efficient heating systems, as well as installing, for example, solar panels for a cleaner energy supply.

March 09, 2020 European Trade Mark and Design Network

Consultation on CP11 – New Types of Trade Marks

The draft Common Practice documents of the work-streams 1 and 2 of the project CP11 ‘New Types of Trade Mark – Examination of formal requirements and grounds for refusal and invalidity’ have been made available in English for comments.

The documents can be accessed via the following links:

The Working Groups of CP11 work-stream 1 (WS1) and work-stream 2 (WS2), composed of representatives from nine and eight intellectual property offices of the EU, respectively, four user associations and the EUIPO, made significant progress on developing the Common Practice documents during the course of four Working Group meetings and two (one for work-stream 2) drafting workshop meetings in which the representatives shared their best practices and expertise to establish the common principles of the CP11 project.

As a result, the second draft of the CP11-WS1 Common Practice and the first draft of the CP11-WS2 Common Practice are now available for review by all stakeholders. 

The Working Group members have included various examples in both documents that are still under discussion, where it would be very appreciated to receive feedback.

The EUIPO welcomes your comments on both draft Common Practices, which should be addressed to CommonPractices@euipo.europa.eu by Monday, 13 April 2020.

The CP11 project is part of the European Cooperation Projects under the heading ECP4 Shared Services and Practices.

 

• EIB takes a stake in NEF with an investment of EUR 150 million to support loans to improve the energy efficiency of households.
• Homes are still one of the main emitters of CO₂, making insulation and energy saving measures extremely important in the fight against climate change.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) supports the National Energy Saving Fund with a loan of EUR 150 million. The NEF, which was set up in 2014, now has a total of EUR 1 billion available to emit preferential loans of up to EUR 25,000 per housing unit to homeowners and homeowner associations who want to reduce their energy bills. These loans, with an advantageous interest rate, are intended for financing energy efficiency measures such as insulation, or more efficient heating systems, as well as installing, for example, solar panels for a cleaner energy supply.

Ernst-Jan Boers, Chairman of the Board of the Nationaal Energiebespaarfonds: “With the EIB’s contribution we can help even more private homeowner and owners’ associations in making their homes or housing complexes more sustainable. Since the foundation of the NEF in 2014 the number of awarded energy-saving loans has been growing steadily; we expect this growth to continue in the coming years.”

‘Our homes are responsible for a significant proportion of CO2 emissions,” stated EIB Vice-President Andrew McDowell. “Investing in reducing household energy demand will make a major contribution to combating climate change, while also saving on energy bills. The EIB, as the EU Climate Bank, is happy to support these types of projects.”

In 2017, the EIB already supported the Limburgs Energiefonds (LEF), which also focuses on providing affordable financing for sustainability investments in private homes.

09 March

ESMA’s supervision focuses on outstanding credit ratings, data quality and third country CCPs​

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its 2020 Supervision Work Programme, detailing the areas of focus for its supervision of Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs), Trade Repositories (TRs) and the monitoring of third-country Central Clearing Counterparties (TC-CCPs) and Central Securities Depositories (TC-CSDs). ESMA is also preparing for its new supervisory responsibilities under the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR), the Securitisation Regulation (SECR), the Benchmarks Regulation and MiFIR.

06 March

MIFID II: ESMA ISSUES LATEST DOUBLE VOLUME CAP DATA​

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has updated its public registerwith the latest set of double volume cap (DVC) data under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).

03 March

Steven Maijoor delivers keynote at 4th Annual Fintech Conference

Steven Maijoor, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), has delivered the keynote addressat the 4th Annual Fintech Conference in Brussels today.

02 March

EMIR: ESMA advises Commission on C6 energy derivatives ​

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a reporton C6 energy derivatives and related obligations under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).

02 March

ESMA seeks experts in corporate finance to join its industry advisory group

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published an open call for candidatesfor industry experts in corporate finance.

28 February

MiFID II: ESMA makes available the results of the annual transparency calculations for equity and equity-like instruments

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) had made available the results of the annual transparency calculations for equity and equity-like instruments.

19 February

ESMA finds continued high risks as financial markets remain highly volatile

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities regulator, publishes the first Trends, Risks and Vulnerabilities (TRV) report of 2020. ESMA identifies continued high risks and a weaker economic outlook as markets remain highly sensitive to geopolitical events. The risk outlook is stable, however risks are high, particularly in the securities markets and for retail investors.

18 February

ESMA UPDATES ITS Q&As RELATING TO THE PROSPECTUS REGULATION

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has updated its Questions and Answerson the Prospectus Regulation with two new Q&As. 

18 February

ESMA updates Q&AS on MiFID II and MiFIR investor protection topics

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has updated its Questions and Answerson the implementation of investor protection topics under the Market in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation (MiFID II/ MiFIR).

17 February

ESMA updates Q&A on Implementation of CRA Regulation

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has updated its Questions and Answers (Q&As) on the Credit Rating Agencies Regulation (CRAR).

17 February

ESMA updates the CSDR Q&As

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has updated its Questions and Answers (Q&As) regarding the implementation of the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR).

14 February

ESMA seeks candidates for its stakeholder group

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is seekingcandidates to represent the interests of all types of financial markets stakeholders as members of its Securities and Markets Stakeholders Group (SMSG).

14 February

ESMA responds to European Commission consultation on the Benchmark Regulation review

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has published its response to the European Commission’s (EC) Consultation on the review of the Benchmark Regulation (BMR). ESMA’s responses focus on the cessation of critical benchmarks, parity between EU and third-country benchmarks and transparency.

12 February

Steven Maijoor on Sustainable Finance at the European Financial Forum in Dublin

Steven Maijoor, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), has delivered a keynote address on sustainable finance issues at the European Financial Forum in Dublin.

07 February

MIFID II: ESMA ISSUES LATEST DOUBLE VOLUME CAP DATA

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has updated its public register with the latest set of double volume cap (DVC) data under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).

07 February

ESMA ISSUES OPINIONS ON POSITION LIMITS UNDER MIFID II​

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published seven opinions on position limits  regarding commodity derivatives under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation (MiFID II/MIFIR)​.

07 February

ESMA PUBLISHES THE FINAL REPORT ON MIFIR ALIGNMENTS FOLLOWING THE INTRODUCTION OF EMIR REFIT

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a final reportsuggesting amendments to the trading obligation under MiFIR following the introduction of EMIR Refit.

06 February

ESMA updates on progress on compliance with the MiFIR pre-trade transparency requirements in commodity derivatives

ESMA has published a statement to provide an update on the implementation of the supervisory briefing on pre-trade transparency in commodity derivatives.

06 February

ESMA sets out its strategy on sustainable finance

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has published its Strategy on Sustainable Finance. The strategy sets out how ESMA will place sustainability at the core of its activities by embedding Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors in its work.

05 February

ESMA launches a Common Supervisory Action with NCAs on MiFID II suitability rules

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, is launching a common supervisory action (CSA) with  national competent authorities (NCAs) on the application of MiFID II suitability rules across the European Union (EU). The CSA will be conducted during  2020.

05 February

ESMA proposes to amend the technical standards in view of the postponing of the entry into force of the CSDR settlement discipline

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a Final Reporton draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on postponing the date of entry into force of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1229 (RTS on settlement discipline) to 1 February 2021.

04 February

ESMA amends guidelines to further harmonise the enforcement of financial information by national regulators

The European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) has published an amended version of its guidelineson enforcement of financial information. The Guidelines apply to national competent authorities’ (NCAs) enforcement of financial information which issuers, listed on regulated markets, are required to publish under the Transparency Directive.

04 February

ESMA consults on MiFIR transparency regime for equity instruments

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has launched a Consultation Paper (CP) reviewing the MiFIR transparency regime for equity, ETFs and other related instruments. The CP contains proposals, based on in-depth data analysis of the effects of the current regime since January 2018, for possible amendments to the transparency regime.

04 February

ESMA advises the European Commission on Product Intervention

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities market regulator, publishes its final Reporton product intervention requirements under MiFIR.

03 February

ESMA CONSULTS ON MIFIR TRANSPARENCY REGIME FOR SYSTEMATIC INTERNALISERS

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched a consultationon the MiFIR pre-trade transparency regime for systematic internalisers (SI) active in non-equity instruments.

03 February

ESMA issues an opinion on Product Intervention measures by Norway

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued an opinion on two product intervention measures taken by the National Competent Authority (NCA) of Norway.

31 January

MiFID II: ESMA makes new bond liquidity data available

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has started to make available new data for bonds subject to the pre- and post-trade requirements of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and Regulation (MiFIR) through its data register.

31 January

MiFID II: ESMA publishes data for the systematic internaliser calculations for equity, equity-like instruments and bonds

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published data for the systematic internaliser calculations for equity, equity-like instruments and bondsunder the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and Regulation (MiFIR).

31 January

ESMA issues opinion on accepted market practice on liquidity contracts by CONSOB

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued an opinion supporting a revised Accepted Market Practice on liquidity contracts notified by the Italian market regulator, the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (Consob).

31 January

ESMA consults on the new MiFIR and MiFID II regimes for third-country firms

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets’ regulator, has launched a consultationon draft technical standards on the provision of investment services and activities in the European Union (EU) by third-country firms under MiFIR and MiFID II.

31 January

ESMA: update on governance and reporting obligations following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is publishing this statement to clarify issues relating to its governance and the reporting obligations for UK entities from 1 February 2020 following the United Kingdom’s (UK) withdrawal from the European Union (EU).

30 January

​ESMA launches a Common Supervisory Action with NCAs on UCITS liquidity risk management

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator,  is launching a Common Supervisory Action (CSA) with national competent authorities (NCAs) on the supervision of UCITS’ managers liquidity risk management across the European Union (EU).  The CSA will be conducted during 2020.

30 January

ESMA appoints chairs to its Standing Committees

​The Board of Supervisors of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has appointed chairs of its standing committees.

29  January

ESMA announces open hearing on its Consultation on Internal Controls for CRAs

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will hold an open hearingin the context of its Consultation on Internal Controls for Credit Rating Agencies.