Today, the European Commission has adopted a reform of the current EU rules on Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services, which govern financial services sold at a distance. The Proposal will strengthen consumer rights and foster the cross-border provision of financial services in the single market. This market has significantly evolved in light of the overall digitalisation of the sector and the new types of financial services that have been developed since the rules were first introduced in 2002. These developments have been further enhanced by the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic, which greatly contributed to an increase in online transactions.
Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, said: “Consumers increasingly turn to online services, also when it comes to finances, and that is a good thing. But we also need to ensure that the rules of the game are up to speed with the latest developments. Consumers need clear information and a safety net in case something goes wrong”.
Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, added: “As the world of financial services evolves, so must our rules: it is that simple. Digitisation and the multiplication of new financial products  have fundamentally changed this sector in the past twenty years, and the recent lockdowns brought by the Covid crisis have evidenced that a more  efficient and up-to-date regulatory framework for distance financial services is more relevant than ever. Although the risks and challenges may vary, our spotlight is invariably set on the safety of consumers”.
Modernisation of EU rules
To ensure the fostering of the provision of financial services in the internal market and to ensure a high level of consumer protection, the Proposal introduces actions across several areas:

Easier access to 14-day withdrawal right for distance contracts for financial services: with a view of easing the exercise of this right, traders will have to provide a withdrawal button when selling through electronic means. Furthermore, the trader is obliged to send a notification of the right of withdrawal if the pre-contractual information is received less than a day before conclusion of the contract.

Clear rules on what, how and when pre-contractual information is to be provided: the Proposal modernises the rules, for example with regards to electronic communication, imposing obligations on the seller to provide certain information upfront, including for instance the e-mail address of the trader, any potential hidden costs or the risk related to the financial service. Information must also be displayed prominently in the screen, and rules are introduced regarding the use of pop-ups or layered links to provide information. The new rules will also ensure that the consumer is given sufficient time to understand the information received, at least a day before the actual signature.

Special rules to protect consumers when concluding financial services contracts online: financial services contracts might be complex to understand, in particular, if negotiated at a distance. The Proposal obliges traders to set up online systems which are fair and transparent and to provide an adequate explanation when using online tools (e.g. roboadvice or chat boxes). The rules also empower the consumer by introducing the option to request human intervention, if the interaction with such online tools is not fully satisfactory.

Enforcement: the Proposal will give teeth to the competent authorities. Stronger penalties will apply to financial service contracts concluded at a distance in case of widespread cross-border infringements, with a maximum penalty of at least 4% of annual turnover.

Full harmonisation to ensure the same high level of consumer protection across the internal market: the Proposal introduces full legal harmonisation, establishing similar rules for all providers across Member States.

Next steps
The Commission’s Proposal will now be discussed by the Council and the European Parliament.
Background
Over the last 20 years, distance marketing of consumer financial services has changed rapidly. Financial providers and consumers have abandoned the fax machine, mentioned in the Directive, and since then new players (such as fintech companies) with new business models and new distribution channels (e.g. financial services sold online) have emerged. In addition, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns has accelerated the use of online shopping in general.
The Directive has been subject to a full evaluation. The main outcomes were: (i) following the entry into application of the Directive, a number of EU product-specific legislative acts (e.g. the Consumer Credit Directive) and EU horizontal legislation (the General Data Protection Regulation) have been enacted, reducing the Directive’s relevance and its added value subsequently decreased; (ii) a number of developments such as the increasing digitalisation of services have affected the Directive’s effectiveness in reaching its principal objectives; (iii) however, the Directive remained useful since its horizontal application ensured that consumers had a certain level of protection for contracts concluded at a distance for those financial products that were not yet subject to any EU legislation (e.g. in the absence of EU rules on crypto-assets, the Directive applies).
The Impact Assessment accompanying the Proposal explored a number of possible options. The preferred option has led to the repeal of Directive 2002/65/EC, the modernisation and subsequent inclusion of the still relevant articles (right to pre-contractual information and right of withdrawal) into Directive 2011/83/EU (Consumer Rights Directive), the extension of the application of certain rules of Directive 2011/83/EU to consumer financial services concluded at a distance (e.g. rules on additional payments and rules on enforcement and penalties) and the introduction of targeted new provisions to ensure online fairness when consumers conclude financial services online. In this light, the Proposal tackles the identified problems and addresses the objectives in an effective, efficient and proportionate way.
Compliments of the European Commission.
The post Consumer protection: EU Commission adopts stronger consumer rules for online financial services first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

Today, EU Member States, with the support of the European Commission and ENISA, the EU Agency for Cybersecurity, published a report on the cybersecurity of Open RAN. This new type of 5G network architecture will in the coming years provide an alternative way of deploying the radio access part of 5G networks based on open interfaces. This marks another major step in the coordinated work at EU level on the cybersecurity of 5G networks, demonstrating a strong determination to continue to jointly respond to the security challenges of 5G networks and to keep abreast of developments in the 5G technology and architecture.
EU citizens and companies using advanced and innovative applications enabled by 5G and future generations of mobile communication networks should benefit from the highest security standard. Following up on the coordinated work already done at EU level to strengthen the security of 5G networks with the EU Toolbox on 5G Cybersecurity, Member States have analysed the security implications of Open RAN.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age, said: “Our common priority and responsibility is to ensure the timely deployment of 5G networks in Europe, while ensuring they are secure. Open RAN architectures create new opportunities in the marketplace, but this report shows they also raise important security challenges, especially in the short term. It will be important for all participants to dedicate sufficient time and attention to mitigate such challenges, so that the promises of Open RAN can be realised.”
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, added: “With 5G network rollout across the EU, and our economies’ growing reliance on digital infrastructures, it is more important than ever to ensure a high level of security of our communication networks. That is what we did with the 5G cybersecurity toolbox. And that is what – together with the Member States – we do now on Open RAN with this new report. It is not up to public authorities to choose a technology. But it is our responsibility to assess the risks associated to individual technologies. This report shows that there are a number of opportunities with Open RAN but also significant security challenges that remain unaddressed and cannot be underestimated. Under no circumstances should the potential deployment in Europe’s 5G networks of Open RAN lead to new vulnerabilities.”
Guillaume Poupard, Director General of France’s National Cyber Security Agency (ANSSI), said: “After the EU Toolbox on 5G Cybersecurity, this report is another milestone in the NIS Cooperation Group’s effort to coordinate and mitigate the security risks of our 5G networks. This in-depth security analysis of Open RAN contributes to ensuring that our common approach keeps pace with new trends and related security challenges. We will continue our work to jointly address those challenges.”
The report found that Open RAN could bring potential security opportunities, provided certain conditions are met. Through greater interoperability among RAN components from different suppliers, Open RAN could allow greater diversification of suppliers within networks in the same geographic area. This could contribute to achieving the EU 5G Toolbox recommendation that each operator should have an appropriate multi-vendor strategy to avoid or limit any major dependency on a single supplier. Open RAN could also help increase visibility of the network thanks to the use of open interfaces and standards, reduce human errors through greater automation, and increase flexibility through the use of virtualisation and cloud-based solutions.
However, the Open RAN concept still lacks maturity and cybersecurity remains a significant challenge. Especially in the short term, by increasing the complexity of networks, Open RAN would exacerbate a number of security risks. Those risks include a larger attack surface and more entry points for malicious actors, an increased risk of misconfiguration of networks and potential impacts on other network functions due to resource sharing. The report also notes that technical specifications, such as those developed by the O-RAN Alliance, are not sufficiently mature and secure by design. Open RAN could lead to new or increased critical dependencies, for example in the area of components and cloud.
To mitigate these risks and leverage potential opportunities of Open RAN, the report recommends a number of actions based on the EU 5G Toolbox, in particular:

Using regulatory powers to be able to scrutinise large-scale Open RAN deployment plans from mobile operators and if needed, restrict, prohibit and/or impose specific requirements or conditions for the supply, large-scale deployment and operation of the Open RAN network equipment;
Reinforcing key technical controls such as authentication and authorisation, and adapting the monitoring design to a modular environment where each component is monitored;
Assessing the risk profile of Open RAN providers, external service providers related to Open RAN, cloud service/infrastructure providers and system integrators, and extending the controls and restrictions on MSPs (Managed Service Providers) to those providers;
Addressing deficiencies in the development of technical specifications: the process should satisfy the World Trade Organisation (WTO)/Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) founding principles for the development of international standards[1] and security deficiencies should be addressed;
Including Open RAN components into the future 5G cybersecurity certification scheme, currently under development, at the earliest possible stage.

As regards preserving and consolidating EU capacities in this market, a technology-neutral regulation to foster competition should be maintained. In this framework, EU and national funding for 5G and 6G research and innovation could be used to support opportunities for EU players to compete on a level playing field. Beyond the RAN, it is also important to address potential dependencies or lack of diversity across the whole communication value chain for the diversification of supply.
Overall, the report recommends a cautious approach to moving towards this new architecture. Any transition from and coexistence with existing, reliable technologies should be done by allowing sufficient time and resources to assess risks in advance, implement appropriate mitigations and clearly define responsibilities in case of failure or incident.
Background
The timely deployment of secure 5G networks is a high priority for the European Union. To contribute to this objective, EU Member States, with the support of the European Commission and ENISA, have developed a concerted approach to the cybersecurity of 5G networks. Through this concerted approach, EU Member States jointly assessed the main risks related to 5G networks (‘EU Coordinated risk assessment’) and defined a comprehensive and risk-based approach in the form of the EU 5G Toolbox adopted in January 2020. The EU 5G Toolbox recommends a set of common risk mitigating measures.
The EU 5G Toolbox includes strategic and technical measures and corresponding actions to reinforce their effectiveness. Key measures of the EU 5G Toolbox include strengthening security requirements, assessing the risk profiles of suppliers, applying relevant restrictions for suppliers considered to be high-risk including necessary exclusions for key assets considered as critical and sensitive (such as the core network functions), and having strategies in place to promote the diversification of suppliers and avoid dependencies.
To continue and deepen the EU coordination process on 5G cybersecurity, the EU Cybersecurity Strategy of December 2020 identified three key objectives: (1) ensuring further convergence in risk mitigation approaches across the EU, (2) supporting continuous exchange of knowledge and capacity building, and (3) promoting supply chain resilience and other EU strategic security objectives.
As part of these key objectives, the NIS Cooperation Group will continue to monitor and assess issues related to new trends and developments in the 5G supply chain. As Open RAN is a market trend in the evolution of 5G and 6G architectures, Member States have decided to conduct an in-depth analysis of the security implications of Open RAN to complement the coordinated risk analysis on 5G.
Compliments of the European Commission.
The post Cybersecurity of 5G networks: EU publishes report on the security of Open RAN first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

Daily average borrowing turnover in the unsecured segment decreased from €138 billion in the first maintenance period of 2022 to €137 billion in the second maintenance period of 2022

Weighted average overnight rate on borrowing transactions in the unsecured segment remained stable at -0.56% for the wholesale sector and decreased from -0.57% to -0.58% for the interbank sector

Daily average borrowing turnover in the secured segment decreased from €429 billion to €404 billion, with a weighted average overnight rate of -0.64%

Chart 1
Daily average nominal borrowing and lending turnover in the secured and unsecured wholesale markets by maintenance period (MP)

(EUR billions)

Data for daily average nominal borrowing and lending turnover in the secured and unsecured markets

Unsecured market

Chart 2
Weighted average rate for wholesale sector borrowing in the unsecured segment by tenor and maintenance period

(percentages)

Data for weighted average rate for unsecured wholesale sector borrowing

In the second maintenance period of 2022, which started on 16 March 2022 and ended on 19 April 2022, the borrowing turnover in the unsecured segment averaged €137 billion per day. The total borrowing turnover for the period as a whole was €3,150 billion. Borrowing from credit institutions, i.e. on the interbank market, represented a turnover of €252 billion, i.e. 8% of the total borrowing turnover. Lending to credit institutions amounted to €183 billion. Overnight borrowing transactions represented 70% of the total borrowing nominal amount. The weighted average overnight rate for borrowing transactions was -0.58% for the interbank sector and -0.56% for the wholesale sector, compared with -0.57% and -0.56% respectively in the previous maintenance period.
Secured market

Chart 3
Weighted average rate for wholesale sector borrowing and lending in the secured segment by tenor

(percentages)

Data for weighted average rate for secured wholesale sector borrowing and lending

In the second maintenance period of 2022, the borrowing turnover in the secured segment averaged €404 billion per day, while the total borrowing turnover for the period as a whole was €9,298 billion. Cash lending represented a turnover of €7,752 billion and the daily average amounted to €337 billion. Most of the turnover was concentrated in tenors ranging from overnight to up to one week, with overnight transactions representing around 27% and 23% of the total nominal amount on borrowing and lending side respectively. The weighted average overnight rate for borrowing and lending transactions was, respectively, -0.64% and -0.68% for the wholesale sector, compared with -0.63% and -0.68% in the previous maintenance period. In the second maintenance period of 2022, the weighted average rate for spot/next borrowing transactions ranged from -0.63% for operations based on collateral issued in Italy to -0.86% for operations based on collateral issued in Germany.

Chart 4
Weighted average rate for spot/next borrowing in the secured segment for collateral issued by maintenance period (MP)

(percentages)

Data for weighted average rate for secured wholesale sector borrowing by collateral issuer country

Table 1
Euro money market statistics

 
 
Turnover (EUR billions)
Average rate O/N (percentages)

 
 
Daily average
Total
 
 

 
 
MP 1 2022
MP 2 2022
MP 1 2022
MP 2 2022
MP 1 2022
MP 2 2022

Unsecured
Borrowing, wholesale
138
137
3,455
3,150
-0.56
-0.56

Of which, interbank
12
11
292
252
-0.57
-0.58

Lending, interbank
7
8
178
183
-0.43
-0.42

Secured
Borrowing, wholesale
429
404
10,723
9,298
-0.63
-0.64

Lending, wholesale
351
337
8,764
7,752
-0.68
-0.68

Contact:

For media queries, please contact Philippe Rispal | philippe.rispal@ecb.europa.eu

Notes

The money market statistics are available in the ECB’s Statistical Data Warehouse.

The Eurosystem collects transaction-by-transaction information from the 47 largest euro area banks in terms of banks’ total main balance sheet assets, broken down by their borrowing from and lending to other counterparties. Unsecured transactions include all trades concluded via deposits, call accounts or short-term securities with financial corporations (except central banks where the transaction is not for investment purposes), general government as well as with non-financial corporations classified as “wholesale” under the Basel III LCR framework. Secured transactions cover all fixed-term and open-basis repurchase agreements and transactions entered into under those agreements, including tri-party repo transactions, denominated in euro with a maturity of up to one year, between the reporting agent and financial corporations (except central banks where the transaction is not for investment purposes), general government as well as non-financial corporations classified as wholesale under the Basel III liquidity coverage ratio framework. As of the first maintenance period of 2019, the wholesale sector covers all counterparties in the sectors listed above. More information on the methodology applied, including the list of reporting agents, is available in the statistics section of the ECB’s website.

The weighted average rate is calculated as the arithmetic mean of the rates weighted by the respective nominal amount over the maintenance period on all days on which TARGET2, the Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross settlement Express Transfer system, is open.

Borrowing refers to transactions in which the reporting bank receives euro-denominated funds, irrespective of whether the transaction was initiated by the reporting bank or its counterpart.

Lending refers to transactions in which the reporting bank provides euro-denominated funds, irrespective of whether the transaction was initiated by the reporting bank or its counterpart.

The tenors O/N, T/N, S/N, 1W, 3M, 6M and 12M refer to, respectively, overnight, tomorrow/next, spot/next, one week, three months, six months and twelve months.

The collateral issuer country refers to the jurisdiction that issues the collateral used for transactions secured by single collateral identified by an International Securities Identification Number.

The missing values for tenors in some of the reserve maintenance periods may be due to confidentiality requirements.

In addition to the developments in the latest maintenance period, this press release incorporates minor revisions to the data for previous periods.

Data are published 15 working days after the end of each maintenance period. The release calendar and the indicative calendars for the Eurosystem’s reserve maintenance periods are available on the ECB’s website.

The next press release on euro money market statistics will be published on 5 July 2022.

Compliments of the European Central Bank.
The post ECB | Euro money market statistics: Second maintenance period 2022 first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

The European Committee of the Regions and European Commission held the 4th meeting of the Broadband Platform on 6 May, focusing on ways to improve the digital infrastructure in the European Union by adding the concept of digital cohesion to the ones of social, economic and territorial cohesion recognised by the Treaties.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the worsening geopolitical context caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine have shown how important technology and digital tools are to help citizens to adapt to challenging circumstances and to provide them with the latest information and key support. The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and European Commission highlighted in their 4th Broadband Platform meeting that digitalisation is key to close digital gaps in access and use of digital services, thus promoting cohesion in Europe.
Michael Murphy (IE/EPP), Mayor of Clonmel Borough District, Chair of the CoR’s Commission for Economic Policy (ECON) and of the Broadband Platform, said: ” Today nearly all aspects of work and private life are concerned by digital transformation, and those who have no access to digital will be missing opportunities and lose out in the long run. In addition to that, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has shown that our societies need to be digitally resilient. Only a society without gaps in the access to and use of latest technology can provide its citizens with the latest information as well as key support tools for those in need, such as those provided through digital platforms. We need to make sure that citizens have equal access to digital technologies and the digital way of life. ”
The digital divide may jeopardise the achievement of the digital decade goals set for 2030, and hamper the cohesion in the EU. During the meeting, Gaetano Armao (IT/EPP), Vice-President of the Region of Sicily and CoR’s rapporteur of the opinion on digital cohesion, examined the causes and challenges of the digital divide for cities and regions. The CoR is seeking to add the digital dimension to the definition of economic, social and territorial cohesion recognised by the EU Treaties. In the era of connectivity, urban and rural areas are still lacking high technological networks and citizens often have insufficient digital skills. For this reason, it is crucial to develop a clear understanding of the digital concept for regions that are less developed in order for them to catch up with the rapid digital transformation.
The rapporteur Armao, stated: ” The acceleration of digitalization during the COVID-19 pandemic did not guarantee improved access and use of e-services. In terms of connectivity and digital infrastructure, rural areas are still lagging. The gap between individuals living in cities and urban areas increased, especially in the provision of digital public services. ”
His opinion is scheduled to be discussed and voted by the ECON Commission on 8 July, and then by the CoR Plenary in October.
Members of the Broadband Platform also discussed that public authorities in particular should be increasingly involved in the European Commission’s 5G Smart Community approach. The strategy aims to provide unprecedented opportunities for local communities to accelerate the deployment of 5G connectivity and enable their citizens and businesses to reap its benefits for services of general interest. In addition, digital global gateways and backbone connectivity, which play an essential role in ensuring very high capacity and performance of digital connectivity across the Union, are necessary for the EU to ensure the competitive availability, reliability and resilience of these vital infrastructures.
Background:
In 2017, the Committee of the Regions and the European Commission jointly launched the Broadband Platform with the aim to help high-speed broadband reach all European regions, including rural and sparsely populated areas where there is not enough market-driven development. Since then, the Platform has been a key instrument in making the voice of local and regional authorities heard through the important added value of the CoR and its members, feeding into the European Commission’s policymaking process. The full list of CoR members can be found here .
The European Committee of the Regions is part of the Join Boost Sustain initiative. Interested cities can find more information here.
On 12 May, members of the ECON Commission will discuss and vote the draft opinion on the EU Data Act prepared by the Chair of the Kerava City Council Anne Karjalainen (FI/PES), and have a first exchange of views on the draft opinion “European Chips Act to strengthen the European semiconductor ecosystem”, of which is rapporteur Thomas Schmidt (DE/EPP), Minister for Regional Development of the Free State of Saxony. More information on the meeting can be found here.
Contact:

Theresa Sostmann | Theresa.Sostmann@cor.europa.eu

Compliments of the European Committee of the Regions.
The post The Broadband Platform discusses ways to improve digital cohesion in Europe first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

What are the results of the Conference on the Future of Europe?
The results of the Conference are presented in the report on the outcome of the Conference, handed over to the Presidents of the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission on 9 May 2022. The centrepiece is the 49 proposals for the future of Europe set out in that report, covering nine topics: climate change and the environment; health; a stronger economy, social justice and jobs; EU in the world; values and rights, rule of law, security, digital transformation, European democracy, migration, education, culture, youth and sport. These proposals include general objectives and more than 300 concrete measures for the institutions to follow up on. Besides these proposals, the report includes a factual overview of the architecture of the Conference, focusing on its citizen-driven and innovative dimension, an overview of the Conference Plenary, as well as the recommendations of citizens’ panels and references to national events and the report on the Multilingual Digital Platform.
How was the consensus reached on the results of the Conference?
The 49 proposals were formulated by the Conference Plenary on a consensual basis and then put forward to the Executive Board. At the Plenary meeting on 29 and 30 April 2022, representatives of the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, representatives from national parliaments reached a consensus on the final proposals of the Conference plenary and approved and the process that led to them.  The 108 members of the citizens’ component expressed their final say on the basis of this consensus. At its meeting on 6 May 2022, the Executive Board drew up the Conclusions of the Plenary and endorsed by consensus the report on the outcome of the Conference.
Why and when was the Conference launched?
The Conference was launched to allow, by way of a citizens-focused, bottom-up, grass roots exercise, all Europeans to have a say on what they expect from the European Union and have a greater role in shaping the future of the Union.
The signing of the Joint Declaration on the Conference on the Future of Europe on 10 March 2021 by the Presidents of the three EU institutions paved the way for this unprecedented, open and inclusive European democratic exercise, which places citizens at its very heart. On 19 April 2021, the Multilingual Digital Platform of the Conference was launched, and on 9 May 2021, an inaugural event of the Conference took place in the European Parliament’s premises in Strasbourg.
Who participated in the Conference and what were its main elements?

The Multilingual Digital Platform was set up as the main hub of the Conference. It gave everyone the chance to participate, by putting forward and debating ideas, as well as participating in events across Europe and reporting on their outcomes.
A central and particularly innovative feature of the Conference was the European Citizens’ Panels. A total of some 800 randomly selected citizens, representative of the EU’s sociological and geographical diversity, organised into four Panels of 200 citizens, met for three deliberative sessions each and made recommendations. A third of each Panel is composed of young people (age 16 – 25).
Member States organised National Citizens’ Panels based on the same principles. In addition, they contributed to the Conference through a wide range of events and initiatives.
A Conference Plenary was set up to debate the recommendations from the National and European Citizens’ Panels, and the input gathered from the Multilingual Digital Platform, grouped by themes. Together with citizens representing European Citizens’ Panels and national panels/events, it gathered representatives of EU institutions and advisory bodies, elected representatives at national, regional and local level, and representatives of social partners and civil society.
An Executive Board oversaw the organisation of the Conference.

What was the input of the Multilingual Digital Platform to the results of the Conference?
The Multilingual Digital Platform allowed to gather ideas from participants on the platform, as well as input from the multitude of original and innovative events taking place under the umbrella of the Conference in the Member States. By May 2022, close to 5 million individual visitors had visited the Multilingual Digital Platform and there were over 50,000 active participants, 18,000 ideas debated, and over 6,500 events registered on the Platform.
Throughout the Conference, reports were drawn up on the contributions submitted on the Platform. The reports, including the thematic mind maps, provided valuable input to the work of the European Citizens’ Panels. Many ideas on the Platform are therefore reflected in the recommendations of the European Citizens’ Panels. Contributions gathered through the Platform were also debated and discussed in the Conference Plenary and its Working Groups.
What was the input of the European Citizens Panels and national panels to the final results of the Conference?
Each of the four European Citizens’ Panels covered different topics in their work, focusing on (1) Stronger economy, social justice, jobs/education, youth, culture, sport/digital transformation; (2) European democracy/values and rights, rule of law, security; (3) Climate change, environment/health; and (4) EU in the world/migration. Each panel came up with a set of recommendations, and selected 20 ambassadors to the Conference Plenary to present and debate these recommendations.
In addition, six Member States – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania and the Netherlands – organised National Citizens’ Panels under the same principles as European Citizens’ Panels.
Altogether, the four European Citizens’ Panels and six National Panels adopted 178 recommendations, which were the main basis for the proposals prepared in the Conference Plenary and Working Groups.
What was the role of the Conference Plenary?
The Conference Plenary met seven times from June 2021 to April 2022. It ensured that the recommendations from the National and European Citizens’ Panels, and input gathered from the Multilingual Digital Platform, were debated and turned into proposals. After the recommendations were presented by and discussed with citizens, the Plenary put forward its proposals on a consensual basis to the Executive Board. Nine Plenary Working Groups were also established, to prepare the debates and the proposals of the Conference Plenary. The Working Groups held lively and constructive debates in their meetings ahead of the Conference Plenaries, as well as online.
At the 7th Conference Plenary, 49 proposals of the Plenary, covering nine topics, were on a consensual basis put forward to the Executive Board.
What was the impact of the Russian aggression against Ukraine on the Conference?
The geopolitical developments during the Conference, and especially the Russian invasion of Ukraine, gave a new perspective to the Conference process. They underlined the importance of upholding democratic values in EU Member States and in the world, while continuing to engage with citizens and nurturing the democratic legitimacy of the EU, which is a peace project in its origin. Ukrainian citizens and Members of the Parliament were heard during the Plenary and invited to the closing event of the Conference. Several citizens’ recommendations became more prominent in the light of these developments and Plenary discussions frequently considered the proposals in the new geopolitical context.
How will the results of the Conference be followed up and how will the participants be informed about it?
The Conference allowed the EU institutions to listen carefully to the concerns, ambitions, and ideas expressed by citizens across Europe. The next step in this process is to come up with concrete EU action building on the outcome of the Conference, contained in the final report. The EU institutions will now examine swiftly how to follow up effectively on this report, each within their own sphere of competences and in accordance with the Treaties. A feedback event will take place to update citizens in autumn 2022.
Compliments of the European Commission.
The post Questions and Answers – Conference on the Future of Europe first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

Digital money is reaching a crossroad, where today’s policy and regulatory choices will affect the evolution of the monetary and payments landscape. Should future money in circulation be mostly publicly issued in the form of central bank digital currency (CBDC) or privately issued, or is there space for a healthy balance of the two? How do trends in “private” crypto assets affect plans to develop CBDC? This seminar will explore these and other questions with high-level policymakers from around the world.

EVENT RECORDING HERE (April 18, 2022)

Digital money is reaching a crossroad. The seminar discussed the prospects of digital public and private money and policymakers’ considerations in supporting and regulating their development.
Key Points:

Future of digital money. Georgieva recognized that digital money would play a bigger role in the future with innovations driven by the private sector and trust built by the participation of central banks, regulators, and standard setters. Sitharaman noted that digital money can improve financial inclusion and facilitate more targeted government transfers. Menon noted that the most revolutionary future is to build a tokenized economy that monetizes previously unmonetizable assets and records them on a distributed ledger.

Digital money in emerging markets. Sitharaman noted that the Indian government has been focusing on building digital platforms as public goods to embrace more innovation in this field. Campos Neto highlighted that the Central Bank of Brazil is closely following developments in digital money, including the vertical integration of the payment, content and messaging functions by Big Techs, as well as the new protocols based on which the private digital money is operating.

CBDC. Georgieva noted that CBDC is being considered by over 100 countries based on an IMF survey. Menon and Campos Neto recognized that wholesale CBDC could facilitate cross-border payments. Campos Neto emphasized that enhancing interoperability of CBDCs and coordination among CBDC-issuing countries would be key for their success.

Regulation. Campos Neto noted that regulation needs to be forward-looking as the development of digital money is fast and non-linear. Sitharaman stressed the need to have a global and technology-driven approach to regulate digital money.

Quotes:
“We are at the crossroads around how fast, how far, and in what proportions, but I see this as a one-way street in which digital money is going to play a bigger role.” Kristalina Georgieva
“What people need is something [as money] that has five characteristics: fast, cheap, secure, transparent, and open.” Roberto Campos Neto
“We should look at the underlying activity, and the nature and quality of the crypto assets, to determine specific risks they pose and the right-size regulation to address those risks.” Ravi Menon
“Regulation using technology will have to be so adaptive and nimble that it has to not be behind the curve, but be sure that is it on the top of it.” Nirmala Sitharaman
Compliments of the IMF.
The post IMF | Money at a Crossroad: Public or Private Digital Money? first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

Speech by Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at Bruegel |

Introduction
There are three main analytical challenges in assessing the economic and inflation outlook for the euro area. First, the pandemic remains a first-order driving force. Over the winter, pandemic restrictions still limited economic activity in the euro area. While these restrictions are currently being lifted and case numbers are declining, the current set of restrictions in China is contributing to a further wave of bottleneck pressures in global supply chains and limiting domestic demand in a major region of the world economy. At the same time, the re-opening of the European economy and the prospects for a more normal summer tourist season are set to provide significant momentum in the coming months, especially for services sectors and tourist-intensive countries.
Second, the significant jump in energy prices since the summer of 2021 represents a major macroeconomic shock. In particular, since oil and gas are primarily imported into the euro area, this constitutes a major adverse terms of trade shock, reducing the aggregate real income of the euro area. In addition to the adverse implications of lower real income for consumption and investment, a persistent increase in energy prices may reduce aggregate supply capacity by making it uneconomic to operate energy-intensive production technologies at full capacity in some industries. This concern applies especially to the tradables sector to the extent that there has also been an increase in the relative price of energy in Europe compared to other parts of the world. In terms of inflation dynamics, even if a rise in energy prices is ultimately a level effect, a protracted phase of temporarily-high inflation runs the risk of affecting medium-term inflation dynamics through a re-setting of inflation expectations.
Third, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a watershed for Europe. The economic impact of the war is operating through several mechanisms including: the amplification of the energy shock; a new set of bottlenecks; and downward revisions in consumer and business confidence. Moreover, the war constitutes a significant source of uncertainty, which is acting as a further drag on economic activity.[1]
In what follows, I review some of the implications of these three forces for the economic outlook and the inflation outlook. I do not attempt to provide a comprehensive overview: rather, the aim is to highlight some of the factors relevant for understanding the current situation.
Economic developments
High energy costs, pandemic-related restrictions, global bottlenecks and, latterly, the initial impact of the war go some way towards explaining the subdued economic performance of the euro area in the last quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022: the quarter-on-quarter growth rates were just 0.3 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.
Although the easing of pandemic-related restrictions in Europe will provide an important source of momentum in the coming months (especially for the services sector), the pandemic is still contributing to global bottlenecks, while the energy shock and the war will continue to exert an adverse impact on domestic activity.
Chart 1 shows different vintages of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook. Compared to the profile of a prolonged multi-year phase of output remaining far below the pre-pandemic level that was embedded in the October 2020 vintage, the development and rollout of vaccines (together with considerable policy support) enabled a much faster recovery, as captured in the October 2021 vintage. However, the impact of new pandemic waves, the energy shock and the war have all contributed to a substantial downward revision in the expected output path, as reflected in the latest April 2022 projections. During 2021, the faster-than-expected global recovery – in combination with the asymmetric and idiosyncratic nature of the impact of the pandemic across industries and regions – helps to explain the emergence of sectoral demand-supply mismatches (bottlenecks) and the jump in energy prices.

Chart 1
Euro area and world GDP

(index 2019=100)

Sources: IMF World Economic Outlook and ECB calculations.

In relation to the composition of domestic demand, Chart 2 shows that consumption and investment remain below pre-pandemic levels, whereas government spending (the sum of public consumption and public investment) has been substantially above the pre-pandemic level since the second half of 2020. The still-subdued level of private expenditure in the euro area stands in contrast to the much stronger recovery in domestic demand in the United States.

Chart 2
Consumption, investment and government spending

(index: Q4 2019 = 100)

Sources: Eurostat, and ECB projections and calculations.
Note: The latest observations are for the first quarter of 2022.

Chart 3 shows a range of Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) confidence indicators. The left panel shows the assessment of the current situation in manufacturing and services. The re-opening of the economy is supporting the continuing improvement in the services sector. Although the manufacturing indicator edged down in March, it remained broadly stable in April, so that the overall profile has so far been resilient to the outbreak of the war. However, in the middle panel, we see that this resilience did not hold for export orders, which have declined more than total orders, since the war and the Covid wave in China are already affecting the external sector. The right panel shows the expectations component, which fell abruptly for manufacturing in particular but has remained in expansionary territory. This can be interpreted as an expectation of a slowdown in growth but not a recession.

Chart 3
PMI confidence indicators

(diffusion index: 50 = no change)

Source: Markit.
Note: The latest observations are for April 2022.

Turning to the labour market, Chart 4 reinforces the message of Chart 2: the recovery in the labour market has been asymmetric, with public sector employment above the pre-pandemic level, employment in industry and construction only now reaching the pre-pandemic level and employment in services still below the pre-pandemic level. As indicated in the right panel of Chart 4, the distance to the pre-pandemic level is larger for the intensive margin (hours worked per employee) than for the extensive margin (numbers employed). At an aggregate level, the ongoing reduction in the unemployment rate and the recovery in the labour force participation rate underline the overall improvement in the labour market.

Chart 4
Labour market: employment and hours worked by sector

(index: Q4 2019 = 100; left panel: persons employed; right panel: total hours worked)

Source: Eurostat.
Note: The latest observations are for the fourth quarter of 2021.

At the same time, the downward revision in the expected output path as a result of the war and high energy prices will have implications for the future evolution of the labour market. In terms of the impact of the war on the labour market, Adrjan and Lydon (2022) highlight a striking pattern in online job postings: since late February, the growth rate of job postings — in the twenty-one European countries with an Indeed job site — has on average fallen eight percentage points relative to their immediate pre-war trend. Of course, this aggregate shift should be interpreted in the context of the significant positive trend in recent months and take into account the different dynamics across countries.[2]
Inflation
Chart 5 shows the change in the price level over the year from April 2021 to April 2022. Energy prices have increased by about 40 per cent. This increase in the relative price of energy is far higher than the individual spikes experienced in the 1970s. It is also four times larger than the energy price spikes previously observed over the last two decades since the creation of the euro (Chart 6). Chart 5 shows as well that the other main categories also have seen above-target inflation rates over the last year, especially the food category.

Chart 5
Energy, food, goods and services inflation

(annual percentage changes)

Sources: Eurostat and ECB calculations.
Note: The HICP – food series shown is HICP food including alcohol and tobacco. The latest observations are for April 2022 (flash).

Chart 6
Difference between HICP – energy and HICP excluding energy from 1991 to present

(percentage points)

Sources: Eurostat and ECB calculations.
Note: The latest observations are for April 2022 (flash).

In understanding the factors driving price increases across sectors, it is important to bear in mind that the rise in energy prices puts upward pressure on costs across all sectors, given the importance of energy as a production input in the food, manufacturing, construction and services sectors.[3] Bottlenecks are also generating temporary upward pressure on costs, even if the eventual resolution of these bottlenecks should reverse these cost pressures in the future. In addition, the lifting of pandemic restrictions can be expected to generate temporary price pressures in re-opening sectors, in view of the recovery in demand for newly-unrestricted services and initial supply and labour market constraints in these sectors.
These themes are illustrated in Chart 7. The left panel suggests that about one percentage point in the current inflation rate for non-energy industrial goods can be attributed to the indirect impact of elevated energy costs and the contribution of bottlenecks. To the extent that the increase in energy costs is ultimately a level effect and bottlenecks eventually are resolved, this suggests that there is a temporary component in the current rate of goods inflation. The right panel shows that services inflation is currently most intense in the contact-intensive sectors that are currently re-opening, which also suggests that the completion of the re-opening process can alleviate services inflation.

Chart 7
Decomposition of inflation in non-energy industrial goods and services inflation

(annual percentage changes; percentage point contributions)

Sources: Eurostat, Narrow Inflation Projections Exercise and ECB calculations.
Notes: HICP non-energy industrial goods inflation is de-meaned by the model mean over the sample from July 2009 to February 2022. Services inflation is decomposed with non-constant weights. The latest observations are for April 2022 (flash).

Still, these adjustment processes (the absorption of higher energy costs across all sectors of the economy, the impact of bottlenecks and the post-pandemic re-establishment of those sectors most affected by the pandemic) may still have some distance to run, as is also suggested by indicators of rising costs in the earlier stages of production before goods and services reach consumers.
In addition, the process of adjustment in nominal wages adds a further dimension to near-inflation dynamics, both due to the overall recovery in the labour market and the adverse impact of unexpected inflation over recent months on real wages. Furthermore, even after the adjustment to these shocks has been completed, it is important to assess whether this phase of high inflation might permanently re-set inflation expectations and thereby also affect longer-term inflation dynamics.
Chart 8 shows developments in nominal wages, including the information embedded in an experimental forward-looking wage tracker developed by ECB staff. This forward-looking tracker is based on the information for wage trends in 2022 and 2023 embedded in already-finalised wage settlements. The overall tracker indicates only sideways movement in aggregate wage growth at around an annual two percent rate.[4] However, if we focus just on the wage agreements that have been concluded since the start of 2022, these indicate higher wage growth at around 3 per cent in 2022 and 2.5 per cent in 2023. The front-loaded nature of recent wage settlements (with 2022 increases larger than 2023 increases) suggests that wage-setters understand that there is a temporary component to the currently high inflation rate. In assessing wage developments, it is also relevant that, under typical conditions and allowing for labour productivity growth at about one per cent, nominal wage growth at three per cent is consistent with the two per cent inflation target. Although so far only a relatively small number of wage contracts have been renegotiated since inflation started to increase strongly in the second half of 2021, the outcomes from the latest wage settlements might provide a helpful guide to the likely outcomes of upcoming negotiations and contribute to a more accurate assessment of realised progress in underlying inflation.[5],[6],[7]

Chart 8
Forward looking euro area wage tracker

(annual percentage changes; percentage share)

Sources: Calculated based on microdata on wage agreements in Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. Data fort the Netherlands is based on the database maintained by the Dutch employer association AWVN. For Italy the data comes from Istat (contratti collettivi e retribuzioni contrattuali), for Spain from the Ministerio de Trabajo y Economía Social and for Germany from Bundesbank.
Notes: Experimental euro area wage tracker includes weighted average of Germany, Italy (data from July 2021 to September 2022) Spain and the Netherlands. The orange line shows the weighted average of wage increases in agreements that have not yet expired, weighted by the number of workers covered by these agreements. The green lines show weighted averages of wage increases in agreements that were concluded in 2022, weighted by the number of workers covered by these agreements. Latest observations: Last agreements signed in NL ES, IT and DE in March 2022

Chart 9 shows the expected momentum in inflation dynamics, as captured by the April 2022 median results from the Survey of Monetary Analysts.[8] The left panel shows the headline HICP, while the right panel shows the core HICPX indicator. Compared to the 6 per cent inflation realised over Q2 2021 to Q1 2022, the coming twelve months (Q2 2022 to Q1 2023) are projected to see cumulative headline inflation at 3.7 percent. In the subsequent two years (Q2 2023 to Q1 2025), inflation per year is projected to be slightly below 2 per cent. In essence, Chart 9 indicates that one more year of inflation momentum above target is expected by market analysts before returning to the target level. In relation to HICPX, the next twelve months are projected to see cumulative core inflation at 2.3 per cent, while core inflation over Q2 2023 to Q1 2025 is expected to average 1.9 per cent per year.

Chart 9
Realised and expected level of HICP and HICP excluding energy and food

(percentages)

Source: Survey of Monetary Analysts.
Note: Expectation is based on the median from the April 2022 Survey of Monetary Analysts.

In terms of the evolution of longer-term inflation expectations, Charts 10-12 present a range of indicators. In relation to the Survey of Professional Forecasters, Chart 10 conveys two messages. First, over the course of 2021, there was a significant re-anchoring of longer-term inflation expectations at our two per cent target: the distribution in the Q1 2021 survey was similar to the prevailing pattern for an extended period before the pandemic with the modal expectation at around 1.6 per cent, whereas the distributions in the Q1 2022 and Q2 2022 surveys show the modal expectation at 2.0 per cent and a significant rightward shift in the mass of the distribution. Second, there is also a visible difference between the Q1 2022 and Q2 2022 survey: the right tail of the distribution has expanded, with more forecasters expecting long-term inflation above 2.5 per cent, significantly higher than the target level.

Chart 10
Long-term inflation expectations

(annual percentage changes; percentages of respondents)

Source: ECB Survey of Professional Forecasters.
Notes: Respondents are asked to report their point forecasts and to separately assign probabilities to different ranges of outcomes. This chart shows the distribution of point forecast responses.

A similar message is conveyed by market measures of inflation compensation, as shown in Chart 11. The left panel of Chart 11 shows that the estimated “true” (that is, corrected for risk premia) longer-term inflation expectations of market participations re-anchored over the course of 2021 at around 2 per cent, after an extended period substantially below the target. In terms of inflation risk, there has been a significant shift from an inflation risk discount until mid-2021 to an increasing inflation risk premium in recent months.

Chart 11
Inflation-linked swap rate

(percentages per annum)

Sources: Refinitiv and ECB calculations.
Notes: Premia-adjusted average estimates based on two affine term structure models following Joslin, Singleton and Zhu (2011) applied to ILS rates adjusted for the indexation lag (monthly data), as in Camba-Mendez and Werner (2017); see Burban, V. et al. (2021), “Decomposing market-based measures of inflation compensation into inflation expectations and risk premia”, Economic Bulletin, Issue 8, ECB. The latest observations are for the end of April 2022 (monthly models).

Chart 12 shows the three-year-ahead inflation expectations from the Consumer Expectations Survey. The left panel shows that there has been a marked shift in the March results – having been quite stable at around 2 per cent, the median expectation moved up to 2.9 per cent. In particular, there was a shift in the proportion of participants reporting expected inflation rates above 4 per cent. In line with the literature on household inflation expectations, the most important signal is conveyed by the shift in the distribution of beliefs about future inflation more than the precise level of expected inflation.

Chart 12
Inflation expectations in the ECB Consumer Expectations Survey

(left panel: annual percentage changes; right panel: annual percentage changes; percentages of respondents)

Sources: ECB Consumer Expectations Survey and ECB staff calculations.
Notes: “Median” refers to the median across individual respondents. Data is winsorised at the 2nd and 98th percentile. The latest observations are for March 2022.

Taken together, Charts 10-12 indicate that there has been a substantial and widespread shift in longer-term inflation expectations since early 2021, largely in the direction of re-anchoring expected inflation at the two percent target. This suggests that the euro area is unlikely to revert to the persistent below-target inflation trend that was so entrenched before the pandemic. At the same time, the most recent signals from surveys and market-based measures also suggest that the right tail of the distribution is expanding, which warrants close monitoring.
Monetary policy
In recent years, the monetary stance of the ECB has been determined by a combination of policy measures: the low level of the key policy rates, rate forward guidance, asset purchases and targeted lending operations. The period of very low interest rates for banks in the targeted lending programme (TLTRO III) is scheduled to end next month. Moreover, as shown in Chart 13, there has been a very substantial decline in the rate of asset purchases in recent months and the Governing Council expects to end net purchases under the asset purchase programme (APP) in the third quarter.

Chart 13
Monthly flow of net purchases under APP and PEPP

(EUR billions)

Source: ECB.
Notes: The chart shows aggregated net purchases for all public and private APP and PEPP programmes at month-end. The latest observation is for 30 April 2022. The values for May and June 2022 were inferred from the ECB’s most recent monetary policy announcement (14 April 2022).

Furthermore, as shown in Chart 14, there has been a remarkable shift in the yield curve during the initial months of 2022. In part, this reflects the re-pricing of risk premia in the current highly-uncertain environment. In part, it reflects the anticipation of market participants that the rate forward guidance criteria of the ECB are closer to being fulfilled and that the medium-term inflation outlook will call for a normalisation of policy rates over time.

Chart 14
Overnight interest rate swap yield curve

(percentages per annum)

Sources: Bloomberg, Refinitiv and ECB calculations.
Note: The curves refer to the day before the respective Governing Council meetings (15 December 2021, 9 December 2020 and 11 December 2019). The latest observations are for 29 April 2022.

In thinking about the normalisation process, gradualism is an important consideration. In particular, while the normalisation process should ultimately result in policy rates reaching the level that maintains inflation at two percent on a durable basis, the timeline to complete this normalisation process is intrinsically uncertain for two basic reasons.
First, it is important to take the time to observe the impact of shifts in financing conditions on inflation dynamics. There is a wide range of estimates of the impact of higher interest rates on activity levels and inflation pressures. In particular, it is likely that there are significant interaction effects between shifts in financing conditions and other macroeconomic forces. Accordingly, the feedback loop between various steps in the policy normalisation process and inflation dynamics needs to be incorporated into the monetary policy decision process. In particular, moving along the normalisation path, both the benchmark market interest rates and the lending margins will adjust. Whereas the elasticity of benchmark rates to the gradual reduction and eventual termination of net purchases can be estimated reasonably precisely building on past experience, the reaction of the loan pricing policies of banks (and the re-setting of the terms and conditions of lending agreements) to the policy normalisation is not very well forecastable and depends on a number of factors. In turn, the impact of higher interest rates and a tightening of credit conditions on economic activity and on the formation of inflation expectations are also subject to considerable uncertainty.
Second, high uncertainty about the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, the energy shock and the post-pandemic recovery suggests that it is unlikely that the economy will quickly settle into a new steady-state equilibrium. It follows that cyclical factors are likely to be important for the course of monetary policy, in addition to the underlying normalisation process.
For these reasons, the calibration of our policies will remain data-dependent and reflect our evolving assessment of the outlook. Our over-riding commitment is that the Governing Council will take whatever action is needed to fulfil the ECB’s mandate to pursue price stability and to contribute to safeguarding financial stability. We stand ready to adjust all of our instruments within our mandate, incorporating flexibility if warranted, to ensure that inflation stabilises at our two per cent target over the medium term.
Compliments of the European Central Bank.

The March 2022 ECB staff macroeconomic projections included adverse and severe scenarios in addition to the baseline projections in recognition of the highly-uncertain impact of the war on the euro area economy and the inflation outlook.

Adrjan, P.l and Lydon, R. (2022), “Job Posting Growth Stalls in Europe” Indeed Hiring Lab Blog, 4 May.

See also Lane, P.R. (2022), “Monetary policy during the pandemic: the role of the PEPP”, Speech at the Paris School of Economics, 31 March, Lane, P. R. (2022), “Inflation in the near-term and in the medium-term”, Opening remarks at MNI Webcast, 17 February and Lane, P.R. (2022), “Bottlenecks and monetary policy”, The ECB Blog, 10 February.

Wage agreements specify both current and future wage increases and frequently cover 1-2 years. The wage trackers reflect the average wage growth among those workers for whom agreements are already in place – the so-called coverage. This coverage is decreasing with the length of the time horizon – as the longer one looks into the future the more agreements will have run out. The experimental wage tracker for the euro area reflects a weighted average of wage increases based on micro data on wage agreements in Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.

For more than half of the private sector employees in the euro area, inflation does not play a formal role in wage setting, but can be an important factor in wage negotiations and in some countries there is renewed pressure to introduce or increase the prevalence of indexation clauses. See, for example, ECB (2022) “An initial analysis of the impact of inflation on collective bargaining in 2022”, Bank of Spain Economic Bulletin, Issue 1See also ECB (2021) “The prevalence of private sector wage indexation in the euro area and its potential role for the impact of inflation on wages” Economic Bulletin, Issue 7.

Also substantial increases in minimum wage increases, which are in some countries linked to inflation, can be expected to contribute more strongly than usual to euro area wage growth in 2022 and 2023. See ECB (2022), ”Minimum wages and their role for euro area wage growth”, Economic Bulletin, Issue 3.

A pickup in nominal wages later this year is also in line with the results in the March 2022 Corporate Telephone Survey.See ECB (2022), “Main findings from the ECB’s recent contacts with non-financial companies”, Economic Bulletin, Issue 3.

To capture momentum in inflation dynamics, I focus on the cumulative change in the price level over a twelve month period.

The post ECB | Philip R. Lane: The euro area outlook: some analytical considerations first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

In order to unleash the full potential of health data, the European Commission is presenting a regulation to set up the European Health Data Space. This proposal supports individuals to take control of their own health data, supports the use of health data for better healthcare delivery, better research, innovation and policy making and enables the EU to make full use of the potential offered by a safe and secure exchange, use and reuse of health data.
The European Health Data Space is a health specific ecosystem comprised of rules, common standards and practices, infrastructures and a governance framework that aims at

empowering individuals through increased digital access to and control of their electronic personal health data, nationally and cross-borders, as well as support to their free movement, fostering a genuine single market for electronic health record systems, relevant medical devices and high risk artificial intelligence (AI) systems (primary use of dataSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••)
providing a consistent, trustworthy and efficient set-up for the use of health data for research, innovation, policy-making and regulatory activities (secondary use of data)

As such, the European Health Data Space is a key pillar of the strong European Health UnionSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN••• and it is the first common EU data space in a specific area to emerge from the European strategy for dataSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••.
Trust is a fundamental enabler for the success of the European Health Data Space. The European Health Data Space will provide a trustworthy setting for secure access to and processing of a wide range of health data. It builds on

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Data Governance ActSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••

Data ActSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••

NIS Directive

As horizontal frameworks, they provide rules that also apply to the health sector. However, more specific rules are developed in the European Health Data Space Regulation, taken into account the sensitivity of health data.
Compliments of the European Commission.
The post European Health Data Space first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

Plenary adopts 49 proposals (more than 300 measures) for wide-ranging reforms
Parliament’s delegation decided by broad majority to support the proposals
MEPs will, based on citizens’ demands, seek to formally initiate amending the Treaties
Citizens’ feedback on proposals overwhelmingly positive, plea for swift follow-up

The Conference Plenary concluded its work, with MEPs expressing their approval of the outcome and announcing that Parliament intends to kick-start EU reforms.
At its final meeting, that took place on Friday and Saturday at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the Conference Plenary reached a consensus on its final draft proposals. It has now adopted 49 proposals, which include more than 300 measures on how to achieve them, across 9 themes, based on 178 recommendations from the European Citizens’ Panels, input from the National Panels and events, and 43 734 contributions on 16 274 ideas recorded on the multilingual digital platform.
You can find an indicative summary of Parliament’s positions and ongoing work related to the Conference Plenary’s proposals in this background note.
Parliament’s decision
On Friday, Parliament’s delegation decided to support the Plenary’s draft proposals. MEPs highlighted the important role that Parliament played in the run-up to this moment, for example by guaranteeing that citizens’ input would remain at the centre of the deliberations throughout the process.
Speakers from five political groups representing a broad majority (EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA, and The Left) agreed that the draft proposals are a major political achievement. They also pointed to Parliament’s concrete achievements in ensuring an effective and democratic process – for example through the establishment of the Working Groups, which delivered the draft Plenary proposals. MEPs representing the ID and ECR groups argued that the proposals do not reflect public opinion in the EU, and stated that their groups would not support them.
Watch a recording of the EP delegation debate.
Consensus in Plenary, MEPs ready to push for Treaty revision
The session on Friday started with the proposals being presented by the Chairs of the Working Groups and the citizen Spokespersons, during which virtually all speakers agreed that the proposals comprise important reforms based on citizens’ recommendations.
Following the presentations, representatives of the four institutional components of the Conference (Parliament, Council, Commission, and national parliaments) approved the proposals by consensus. During his speech on behalf of Parliament’s delegation, the Co-Chair of the Conference Guy Verhofstadt confirmed that the political groups will table a resolution during Parliament’s 2-5 May plenary session to call for a revision of the Treaties. Commenting that this Conference has made him realise the importance of participatory mechanisms complementary to representative democracy, he stated that MEPs must fight hard to ensure that the Conference’s proposals will be turned into the reforms that the EU needs.
Catch up with Guy Verhofstadt’s speech on behalf of the Parliament’s delegation or watch a recording of MEPs’ speeches in Plenary.
Citizens demand action
On Saturday morning, citizens took the floor to comment on the final proposals and the process that led to them, strongly approving of both. They highlighted that they are now expecting the EU institutions and member states to ensure the appropriate follow-up, and the importance of not letting citizens down in the aftermath of this historic moment. They also commented on how their ideas evolved through the Conference’s debates and the impact that Russia’s war in Ukraine had on them, as well as on how they realised the importance of standing up for their ideas while preparing the proposals.
Watch a recording of the Plenary’s concluding meeting.
Next steps
On Europe Day (9 May), the three Co-Chairs of the Executive Board will present the final report of the Conference to the Presidents of the EU institutions at a ceremony in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Contacts:

Kyriakos KLOSIDIS, Press Officer | kyriakos.klosidis@europarl.europa.eu

Sanne DE RYCK, Press Officer | sanne.deryck@europarl.europa.eu

Hana RAISSI , Press officer | hana.raissi@europarl.europa.eu

Compliments of the European Parliament.
The post Future of Europe: Conference Plenary ambitious proposals point to Treaty review first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

STATEMENT BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE:
The Internet has been revolutionary. It provides unprecedented opportunities for people around the world to connect and to express themselves, and continues to transform the global economy, enabling economic opportunities for billions of people. Yet it has also created serious policy challenges. Globally, we are witnessing a trend of rising digital authoritarianism where some states act to repress freedom of expression, censor independent news sites, interfere with elections, promote disinformation, and deny their citizens other human rights. At the same time, millions of people still face barriers to access and cybersecurity risks and threats undermine the trust and reliability of networks.
Democratic governments and other partners are rising to the challenge. Today, the United States with more than 60 partners from around the globe launched the Declaration for the Future of the Internet.
This Declaration represents a political commitment among Declaration partners to advance a positive vision for the Internet and digital technologies. It reclaims the promise of the Internet in the face of the global opportunities and challenges presented by the 21st century. It also reaffirms and recommits its partners to a single global Internet – one that is truly open and fosters competition, privacy, and respect for human rights. The Declaration’s principles include commitments to:

Protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people;
Promote a global Internet that advances the free flow of information;
Advance inclusive and affordable connectivity so that all people can benefit from the digital economy;
Promote trust in the global digital ecosystem, including through protection of privacy; and
Protect and strengthen the multi-stakeholder approach to governance that keeps the Internet running for the benefit of all.

In signing this Declaration, the United States and partners will work together to promote this vision and its principles globally, while respecting each other’s regulatory autonomy within our own jurisdictions and in accordance with our respective domestic laws and international legal obligations.
Over the last year, the United States has worked with partners from all over the world – including civil society, industry, academia, and other stakeholders to reaffirm the vision of an open, free, global, interoperable, reliable, and secure Internet and reverse negative trends in this regard. Under this vision, people everywhere will benefit from an Internet that is unified unfragmented; facilitates global communications and commerce; and supports freedom, innovation, education and trust.
DOWNLOAD THE DECLARATION
The Declaration for the Future of the Internet Partners
Albania | Andorra | Argentina | Australia | Austria | Belgium | Bulgaria | Cabo Verde | Canada | Colombia | Costa Rica | Croatia | Cyprus | Czech Republic | Denmark | Dominican Republic | Estonia | The European Commission | Finland | France | Georgia | Germany | Greece | Hungary | Iceland | Ireland | Israel | Italy | Jamaica | Japan | Kenya | Kosovo | Latvia | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Maldives | Malta | Marshall Islands | Micronesia | Moldova | Montenegro | Netherlands | New Zealand | Niger | North Macedonia | Palau | Peru | Poland | Portugal | Romania | Serbia | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | Taiwan | Trinidad and Tobago | the United Kingdom | Ukraine | Uruguay
OPEN CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
The Declaration remains open to all governments or relevant authorities willing to commit and implement its vision and principles.  Contact the nearest U.S. embassy, mission, or representative to learn more.
Compliments of the U.S. Department of State.

STATEMENT BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION:
On April 28th, the European Union, the United States, and several international partners have proposed a Declaration for the Future of the Internet, setting out the vision and principles of a trusted Internet. Partners support a future for the Internet that is open, free, global, interoperable, reliable and secure and affirm their commitment to protecting and respecting human rights online and across the digital world. So far, 60 partners have endorsed the Declaration, including all EU Member States, and more countries are expected to follow suit in the coming weeks. The list of signatories is available here.
The Declaration for the Future of the Internet is in line with the rights and principles strongly anchored in the EU and builds on the Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles that the Commission has proposed to co-sign together with the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: “The Internet has brought humanity together, like never before in history. Today, for the first time, like-minded countries from all over the world are setting out a shared vision for the future of the Internet, to make sure that the values we hold true offline are also protected online, to make the Internet a safe place and trusted space for everyone, and to ensure that the Internet serves our individual freedom. Because the future of the Internet is also the future of democracy, of humankind.”
The Declaration for the Future of the Internet has been launched today at a hybrid event in Washington, D.C., organised by the White House’s National Security Council. Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe fit for the Digital Age and Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, participated via video conference.
The partners in the Declaration affirm that the Internet must reinforce core democratic principles, fundamental freedoms and human rights as reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They share the belief that the Internet should operate as a single, decentralised network of networks, where digital technologies are used in a trustworthy way, avoiding unfair discrimination between individuals and allowing for contestability of online platforms, and for fair competition among businesses.
In launching this Declaration, the partners also express their strong concerns about the repression of Internet freedoms by some authoritarian governments, the use of digital tools to violate human rights, the growing impact of cyberattacks, the spread of illegal content and disinformation and the excessive concentration of economic power. They commit to cooperating to address these developments and risks. They also share the vision that digital technologies have the potential to promote connectivity, democracy, peace, the rule of law and sustainable development.
The current situation in Ukraine dramatically demonstrates the risk of severe disruption of the Internet, notably in the form of total or partial shutdowns. There is also a risk of fragmentation of the Internet, as the Russian government has been threatening to disconnect partially or totally from the global Internet, as well as of being misused, as there is currently a surge in cyberattacks, online censorship and disinformation. This shows once again the importance of stepping up our actions to defend the global open Internet, which is a driving force for the economies and societies worldwide.
Partners will work together to continue to deliver on the promise of connecting humankind and will translate the principles of the Declaration into concrete policies and actions, while respecting their regulatory autonomy. Other stakeholders will be invited, including from civil society and industry, to support the Declaration and facilitate its implementation. Partners will promote these principles globally, within the multilateral system.
Members of the College said:
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe fit for the Digital Age, said: “The Internet is a part of our daily lives. Faced with corporate power and state power Europe’s approach to the Internet, is based on a clear guideline: people’s power. So our vision is a global, open Internet where people can freely express themselves and companies have a chance to compete and innovate. Many countries around the world are reflecting on how best to maximise opportunities of the Internet and minimise the risks for their populations.”
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said: “The Declaration for the Future of the Internet is a clear message in a time of geopolitical and digital upheaval: the EU is committed to maintaining the Internet free, open, global, interoperable, reliable, and secure. We stand against efforts to divide the Internet and will continue to work together with our partners around the world to protect human rights online and across the digital ecosystem. The DFI enlarges the law-governed digital space, brings together coalitions of like-minded partners that share a vision of a human-centric digital transformation. It is a demonstration of the EU’s Digital Diplomacy being an effective part of our foreign policy toolbox.”
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, said: “Online, as well as offline, people should be free, safe and empowered to pursue their aspirations. This is in Europe’s DNA and we are committed to work with our international partners to promote an open, neutral, interoperable and secure Internet where rights are protected and illegality is removed, where innovation thrives and everyone has access to content and services of their choice. This Declaration will ensure that the Internet and the use of digital technologies reinforce, not weaken, democracy and respect for human rights.”
Next Steps
The Declaration is an inclusive initiative, and the partners will continue to reach other governments to involve them in the Declaration. All partners will reach out to the private sector, international organisations, the technical community, academia, and civil society, and other relevant stakeholders worldwide to work in partnership to achieve the vision of an open, free, global, interoperable, reliable and secure Internet.
These efforts will culminate in an event in the summer of 2022, where partners will discuss with the multi-stakeholder community how the Declaration and its principles can elevate and support the future of the global Internet. Workshops on this subject will also take place in the next months.
While the Declaration and its guiding principles are not legally binding, it should be used as a reference point for public policy makers, as well as citizens, businesses, and civil society organisations.
Background
The European Union worked together with the United States and a group of international partners to devise a positive agenda and shared vision for the future of the global Internet. The Declaration for the Future of the Internet is fully consistent with EU values as enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the EU Digital Rights Principles as part of Europe’s Digital Decade, as well as a broad range of digital policy initiatives led by the EU.
It follows the announcement made in the Digital Compass Communication to build on a renewed transatlantic relationship that leads the way to a wider coalition of like-minded partners; one that is open to and developed together with all those who share the EU’s vision of the digital transformation.
The Declaration is of political nature. Adhering to the principles contained in the Declaration does not create legally binding effects for the European Union and its Member States and does not pre-empt or prejudge our position in other fora.
Declaration for the Future of the Internet
Compliments of the European Commission.
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