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

In his speech, Mr Maijoor focused on, amongst other issues, regulatory authorities role in tackling climate change, the need for reliable ESG standards and their supervision and the need for measures across the whole of the investment chain saying:

“The financial sector plays a pivotal role as a key transmission channel of the much-needed transformation towards a more sustainable economic system. As securities regulators this is a matter of high priority;”

“Key pillars supporting the shift towards a more sustainable financial system are the measurement, verification and disclosure of ESG factors. It is important that public authorities step in and establish robust ESG standards and supervise the relevant actors and products to prevent the risk of greenwashing;” and

“As ESMA we are committed to actively contributing to the transition to sustainability by supporting measures across the whole investment chain, engaging with all relevant stakeholders and with our colleagues within the international community of securities regulators.”




Swedish suspect of major drug trade indicted with Eurojust support

The Hague, 12 February 2020

The judicial authorities in Stockholm have today formally indicted the main suspect of a large-scale digital sale of illicit drugs, who was arrested with the active involvement of Eurojust. The suspect of Swedish origin is supposed to have made profits of around  EUR 1 million by selling heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis via the illegal Darknet. His activities had been ongoing for over three years when he was arrested in his hometown of Lund in September 2018.

Eurojust supported the Swedish authorities with the facilitation of European Investigation Orders (EIOs) and rogatory letters to Germany and the Netherlands as well as third countries, including New Zealand and Panama. The Spanish desk at Eurojust assisted by connecting the Swedish and Panamanian authorities and by providing judicial advice on the case.

Investigations into the case started in 2017 by the Swedish authorities. The sale of the drugs mainly took place in Sweden and amounted to a street value of approximately EUR 35 million.. In 324.000 online transactions some 17.000 persons in Sweden bought illicit drugs from the suspect via the Darknet. All these transactions were encrypted and paid for in bitcoins, with the illicit drugs delivered to the buyers by mail.  

The indicted suspect was running the sale of the drugs by himself, but worked with a group of suppliers. Police and judiciary will now start further investigations into these suppliers and buyers.  A group of accomplices of the main suspect has already been prosecuted and convicted for the supply and purchase of drugs in this case.

The suspect has now formally been charged for particularly gross drugs trafficking, money laundering and falsification of documents. Four co-defendants will be prosecuted for money laundering. The court case will start on 2 March in the District Court of Stockholm. 

Photo © Shutterstock




Notifications of Compliance with Guidelines – Overview Table

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Press release – ECB policy is working, but new challenges need new responses

The resolution, setting out Parliament’s priorities on the European Central Bank‘s (ECB) future policies, spearheaded by Costas Mavrides (S&D, CY), was approved on Wednesday by 452 votes in favour, 142 against and 33 abstentions following Tuesday’s debate with ECB President Christine Lagarde.

In order to boost the slowing EU economy and encourage growth, MEPs asked the ECB to continue to expand the overall money supply. However, sustainable growth cannot be achieved through monetary policy alone and EU member states still need their own fiscal policies and to implement economic reforms, says the resolution. Furthermore, low or negative interest rates have a harmful impact on pensions and insurance systems, they add. Parliament also notes the importance of continuing with the ECB’s preparatory efforts to ensure EU financial markets remain stable after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU.

Bring ECB policies in line with Paris Agreement

Parliament calls on the ECB to better integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles into its policies and redesign its corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP) to better support environmentally sustainable initiatives. MEPs deplored that green bond issuance still accounts for only 1 % of the overall supply of euro-denominated bonds, while a majority (62.1 %) of ECB corporate bond purchases remain in sectors that are responsible for 58.5 % of euro area greenhouse gas emissions.

Digital currencies and anti-money laundering

The resolution invites the ECB to step up its efforts to combat money laundering, tax evasion and other forms of financial crimes, by creating a system to better monitor large transactions. MEPs also note the need to monitor crypto-assets more closely. In collaboration with the Commission, the ECB should assess the EU legal and regulatory framework on e-money, financial instruments and virtual currencies/assets.

Greek bonds

MEPs regret that the ECB has not yet included Greek bonds in its public sector purchase programme (PSPP), despite positive developments in Greece.




Press release – ECB policy is working, but new challenges need new responses

The resolution, setting out Parliament’s priorities on the European Central Bank‘s (ECB) future policies, spearheaded by Costas Mavrides (S&D, CY), was approved on Wednesday by 452 votes in favour, 142 against and 33 abstentions following Tuesday’s debate with ECB President Christine Lagarde.

In order to boost the slowing EU economy and encourage growth, MEPs asked the ECB to continue to expand the overall money supply. However, sustainable growth cannot be achieved through monetary policy alone and EU member states still need their own fiscal policies and to implement economic reforms, says the resolution. Furthermore, low or negative interest rates have a harmful impact on pensions and insurance systems, they add. Parliament also notes the importance of continuing with the ECB’s preparatory efforts to ensure EU financial markets remain stable after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU.

Bring ECB policies in line with Paris Agreement

Parliament calls on the ECB to better integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles into its policies and redesign its corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP) to better support environmentally sustainable initiatives. MEPs deplored that green bond issuance still accounts for only 1 % of the overall supply of euro-denominated bonds, while a majority (62.1 %) of ECB corporate bond purchases remain in sectors that are responsible for 58.5 % of euro area greenhouse gas emissions.

Digital currencies and anti-money laundering

The resolution invites the ECB to step up its efforts to combat money laundering, tax evasion and other forms of financial crimes, by creating a system to better monitor large transactions. MEPs also note the need to monitor crypto-assets more closely. In collaboration with the Commission, the ECB should assess the EU legal and regulatory framework on e-money, financial instruments and virtual currencies/assets.

Greek bonds

MEPs regret that the ECB has not yet included Greek bonds in its public sector purchase programme (PSPP), despite positive developments in Greece.