Publications Archive

The wishes to limit the term of the contracts entered into by credit rating agencies and issuers as well as the participation volume in credit rating agencies in order to strengthen the independence of credit rating agencies. In future, structured finance instruments will be subjected to ratings by at least two credit rating agencies. Moreover, the Commission wishes to prescribe civil liability for credit rating agencies. 

The Commission wishes to to enhance the efficiency and overall quality of groundhandling services at EU airports. To this end, the market to groundhandling services is to be further opened up, in particular at large airports where at least one additional supplier is to be admitted.

On the one hand, the Commission wishes conduct enhanced surveillance of euro countries, which might need to request financial assistance in future. On the other hand, the Commission wishes to see the tasks assigned by the bail-out package enshrined in secondary EU legislation.

The Regulation of mobile termination rates has become the arena of a power struggle between the EU-Commission and some Member States. The Commission insists that national regulators should apply the “pure-LRIC”-costing model.

Where the demand for landing and takeoff slots exceeds airport capacity, slots are allocated in line with standard procedures. Now the Commission wishes to change these slot allocation rules in order to improve the efficient use of airport capacities.

In order to keep global warming below 2°C, in comparison with 1990, the EU wishes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020 and by 80 to 95% by 2050. A major part of greenhouse gas emissions which can be influenced is created by the energy sector. The Energy Roadmap 2050 presents scenarios illustrating how modernisation can help contribute to the energy system of long-term EU climate protection targets.

The EU Heads of State and Government (apart from Great Britain and the Czech Republic) entered into an agreement to improve the budgetary discipline of the Contracting Parties. The Contracting Parties undertake to transpose a debt brake into their national legal systems and to facilitate the imposition of sanctions in the deficit procedure.

The Commission intends to intensify the surveillance of national EU budget policy and to develop the deficit procedure. Moreover, euro states are to be obliged to transpose European budget requirements stipulated under the Stability and Growth Pact into national law. Moreover, national budgets must be based on independent macroeconomic forecasts in future.

The amendments mainly focus on two areas. Firstly, the introduction of the European Professional Card validating the professional qualifications of an employee at the European level. Secondly, the existing common platforms are to be replaced by “common training principles for professions which are regulated in at least two thirds of the Member States and which are not subject to minimum training requirements. For such professions common training principles and exams are to be introduced. Trainees having passed such exams are automatically authorised to pursue the tested profession in every Member State.

The Commission wishes to improve the transparency of financial market transactions, move derivatives trading to organised trading venues and strengthen supervision and competition. Moreover, it intends to strengthen investor protection.