Publications Archive

In Spring 2011, the Commission will be publishing a “European resolution framework”. This framework is to allow credit institutions to fail whilst avoiding costs to taxpayers and without endangering financial stability. 

The EU Commission proposes an extensive overhaul of the digital single market rules. Part 2 of the cepPolicyBrief deals with the notification requirement for telecomms providers, radio frequencies and virtual broadband access.

Part 1 of the cepPolicyBrief concerns net neutrality and the full harmonisation of the rights of end-users. The change to the Roaming Regulation and cross-border fixed-network connections within the EU will be considered in Part 3.

The Commission proposes a Directive obliging both the public purse and companies to take efficiency-related measures. For instance, to annually renovate 3% of public buildings in an energy-efficient manner. Energy supply companies are be held statutorily liable for energy savings of their customers of 1.5%.

In principle, every tax-liable business must submit a VAT return. The Commission wants to introduce an EU-wide mandatory standard VAT return. This consists of a standard form, harmonised tax periods and deadlines for the submission of VAT returns as well as harmonised rules on making corrections to the VAT return.

The European Commission argues in favour of targeted support for CCS and puts various options up for discussion: subsidies for CCS investors, CO₂ emission performance standards or a mandatory CCS certificate system for carbon emitters such as power stations and industrial plants.

Driving times and rest periods in road transport are subject to rules in order to improve road transport safety, improve drivers‘ working conditions and ensure fair competition between road transport companies.  By applying technically modernised “smart” tachgraphs, the Commission wishes to better enforce the rules on driving time and rest periods and reduce the administrative burdens for road transport companies and control authorities.

Additional own funds buffers are to strengthen the banking sector’s resistance to losses and to smooth credit lending to economic cycles. The introduction of a binding leverage ratio and stricter liquidity requirements is to be examined. Infringements of rules are to be subjected to EU-wide sanctions. 

The Proposal provides for an introduction of a European Account Preservation Order. Such order is to be issued if the existence of a debt claim is made credible. For the enforcement of a decision, Member States must appoint enforcement authorities which must approve the order without any further examination and preserve the debtor’s bank account. If the creditor does not know the debtors’ bank accounts, banks are obliged to disclose them or authorities are entitled to search for them in national registers. Debtors are not being notified until after the preservation of their accounts.

Airlines can only emit greenhouse gases if they own the corresponding emission rights ("certificates"). Since 2012, all flights have, in principle, been obliged to own certificates for the entire flight distance between two EU airports and flights between an EU airport and an airport in a non-EU country. As the inclusion of aviation in the EU Emission Trading System (ETS) has come up against considerable international opposition, the EU resolved that, in 2012, the ETS would only apply to flights between EU airports. The European Commission now proposes that airlines should require certificates for emissions from flights to and from third party countries between 2014 and 2020 in respect of the distance flown over the European Economic Area (EEA).

The Communication sets out the up-dated EU crisis rules for state aid to banks during the crisis from 1st August 2013. It replaces the 2008 Banking Communication and supplements the remaining crisis rules. Together, they define the common EU conditions under which Member States can support banks with funding guarantees, recapitalisations or asset relief and the requirements for a restructuring plan.