Publications Archive

The EU-Commission has put forward an “Investment Plan for Europe” which is to trigger Investment of up to € 315 billion. The plan entails the establishment of an European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and an “investment advisory hub” at the European Investment Bank. Also, the Commission aims at improving the investment environment.

In January 2011, the European Union established three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) for the financial sector: The European Banking Authority (EBA, in London), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA, in Frankfurt) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA, in Paris). Currently, the Commission is reviewing the regulations governing the three ESAs and will bring forward its proposals for amendments in early 2015.

The European Commission wants to bring about stricter compliance with the waste hierarchy by introducing quantitative targets for recycling and the avoidance of food waste. A new "early-warning system" will indicate at an early stage if Member States are at risk of failing to meet the targets.

The Commission wants to increase the stability and transparency of money market funds.

The European Commission wants to create the requirements necessary to allow the civilian use of drones ("RPAS") as from 2016. This requires EU-wide regulations on the manufacture and operation of RPAS which are capable of dealing with the potential risks, e.g. accidents and breaches of privacy. The RPAS sector will be subsidised so that the market "develops" more quickly. In particular, SMEs will be informed about the various means of support.

The Commission wants to get an insight into national safety regulations for tourist accommodation. By way of this Green Paper, it wants to present its ideas and thoughts on how the confidence of providers and consumers can be increased, including, where necessary, by way of follow-up measures at EU level. In addition, the Commission wants to collect additional information on the safety of tourist accommodation by holding a public consultation.

There are currently no standardised measurement procedures in the EU for CO2 emissions from Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDVs) nor are there any provisions on their reduction. The Commission wants, on the one hand, the data on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from newly registered HDVs, collected by way of a simulation instrument (VECTO), to be made available to vehicle purchasers. On the other hand, it is considering two measures for reducing CO2: mandatory limits on CO2 for newly registered HDVs or the inclusion of road transport in the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS). In this regard, the Commission prefers the introduction of CO2 limits.

The EU Commission makes proposals for strengthening the internal market for occupational pensions. It wants to facilitate cross-border IORPs business, ensure effective supervision of IORPs and enhance governance. In addition it extends the obligations for providing information to members and beneficiaries and amends the investment rules.

The updated cepDefault-Index shows that the creditworthiness of the individual crisis countries is developing in different directions. The same applies to the core Eurozone countries.

In the group of crisis countries, Ireland and Spain make a positive impression as the creditworthiness of both countries is increasing. Unlike Greece, which is still a long way from regaining its creditworthiness. In Italy too, the erosion of creditworthiness continues.

In the group of core countries, Belgium and Finland are showing a reduction in creditworthiness for the first time. In France, a clear reversal of the downward trend in creditworthiness is still not apparent.

The cepDefault-Index 2014 is divided into two sections: The creditworthiness trends for Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain are presented with detailed explanations.  The creditworthiness trends for the remaining euro and EU countries, as well as other economies such as Switzerland, South Korea and the USA, are set out in the Annex.

The European Commission proposes measures to ensure a secure energy supply in the EU. It calls on the Member States to complete the internal energy market and protect critical infrastructures such as gas pipelines against the political influence of state-owned companies in non-EU countries. In addition, it considers voluntary demand aggregation in order to improve the negotiating position of individual EU energy importers with respect to energy exporters in non-EU countries.