Following the first review under the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU, the Council updated the list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted. This list will continue to be reviewed and, as the case may be, updated every two weeks.
Based on the criteria and conditions set out in the recommendation, as from 16 July member states should gradually lift the travel restrictions at the external borders for residents of the following third countries:
Algeria
Australia
Canada
Georgia
Japan
Morocco
New Zealand
Rwanda
South Korea
Thailand
Tunisia
Uruguay
China, subject to confirmation of reciprocity
Residents of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican should be considered as EU residents for the purpose of this recommendation.
The criteria to determine the third countries for which the current travel restriction should be lifted cover in particular the epidemiological situation and containment measures, including physical distancing, as well as economic and social considerations. They are applied cumulatively.
Regarding the epidemiological situation, third countries listed should meet the following criteria, in particular:
number of new COVID-19 cases over the last 14 days and per 100 000 inhabitants close to or below the EU average (as it stood on 15 June 2020)
stable or decreasing trend of new cases over this period in comparison to the previous 14 days
overall response to COVID-19 taking into account available information, including on aspects such as testing, surveillance, contact tracing, containment, treatment and reporting, as well as the reliability of the information and, if needed, the total average score for International Health Regulations (IHR). Information provided by EU delegations on these aspects should also be taken into account.
Reciprocity should also be taken into account regularly and on a case-by-case basis.
For countries where travel restrictions continue to apply, the following categories of people should be exempted from the restrictions:
EU citizens and their family members
long-term EU residents and their family members
travellers with an essential function or need, as listed in the recommendation.
Schengen associated countries (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) also take part in this recommendation.
Next steps
The Council recommendation is not a legally binding instrument. The authorities of the member states remain responsible for implementing the content of the recommendation. They may, in full transparency, lift only progressively travel restrictions towards countries listed.
A member state should not decide to lift the travel restrictions for non-listed third countries before this has been decided in a coordinated manner.
This list of third countries should continue to be reviewed every two weeks and may be further updated by the Council, as the case may be, after close consultations with the Commission and the relevant EU agencies and services following an overall assessment based on the criteria above.
Travel restrictions may be totally or partially lifted or reintroduced for a specific third country already listed according to changes in some of the conditions and, as a consequence, in the assessment of the epidemiological situation. If the situation in a listed third country worsens quickly, rapid decision-making should be applied.
Background
On 16 March 2020, the Commission adopted a communication recommending a temporary restriction of all non-essential travel from third countries into the EU for one month. EU heads of state or government agreed to implement this restriction on 17 March. The travel restriction was extended for a further month respectively on 8 April 2020 and 8 May 2020.
On 11 June the Commission adopted a communication recommending the further extension of the restriction until 30 June 2020 and setting out an approach for a gradual lifting of the restriction on non-essential travel into the EU as of 1 July 2020.
On 30 June the Council adopted a recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU, including an initial list of countries for which member states should start lifting the travel restrictions at the external borders.
Council recommendation amending the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU (16 July 2020)
Council recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU (30 June 2020)
Compliments of the European Council.

At today’s meeting (July 16, 2020) the Governing Council of the ECB took the following monetary policy decisions:

The interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.50% respectively. The Governing Council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present or lower levels until it has seen the inflation outlook robustly converge to a level sufficiently close to, but below, 2% within its projection horizon, and such convergence has been consistently reflected in underlying inflation dynamics.
The Governing Council will continue its purchases under the pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) with a total envelope of €1,350 billion. These purchases contribute to easing the overall monetary policy stance, thereby helping to offset the pandemic-related downward shift in the projected path of inflation. The purchases will continue to be conducted in a flexible manner over time, across asset classes and among jurisdictions. This allows the Governing Council to effectively stave off risks to the smooth transmission of monetary policy. The Governing Council will conduct net asset purchases under the PEPP until at least the end of June 2021 and, in any case, until it judges that the coronavirus crisis phase is over. The Governing Council will reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the PEPP until at least the end of 2022. In any case, the future roll-off of the PEPP portfolio will be managed to avoid interference with the appropriate monetary policy stance.
Net purchases under the asset purchase programme (APP) will continue at a monthly pace of €20 billion, together with the purchases under the additional €120 billion temporary envelope until the end of the year. The Governing Council continues to expect monthly net asset purchases under the APP to run for as long as necessary to reinforce the accommodative impact of its policy rates, and to end shortly before it starts raising the key ECB interest rates. The Governing Council intends to continue reinvesting, in full, the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the APP for an extended period of time past the date when it starts raising the key ECB interest rates, and in any case for as long as necessary to maintain favourable liquidity conditions and an ample degree of monetary accommodation.
The Governing Council will also continue to provide ample liquidity through its refinancing operations. In particular, the latest operation in the third series of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO III) has registered a very high take-up of funds, supporting bank lending to firms and households.

The Governing Council continues to stand ready to adjust all of its instruments, as appropriate, to ensure that inflation moves towards its aim in a sustained manner, in line with its commitment to symmetry.
The President of the ECB will comment on the considerations underlying these decisions at a press conference starting at 14:30 CET today.
Compliments of the European Central Bank.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has submitted a response to the European Commission’s (EC) consultation on the renewed sustainable finance strategy. The response covers a broad range of topics from strengthening the foundations for sustainable finance, increasing opportunities for citizens, financial institutions and corporates to have a positive impact on sustainability, to managing and reducing risks relating to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

In ESMA’s view, the future strategy on sustainable finance should aim to set up a robust and proportionate European regulatory framework that adequately supports the shift towards a more sustainable financial system. ESMA believes that facilitating access to sustainability data would constitute an essential contribution to putting sustainability at the forefront of the financial sector.
Steven Maijoor, Chair, said:
“In setting the strategic direction to mainstream sustainable finance in the EU, ESMA sees three key areas for intervention: improving the accessibility and standardisation of sustainability data, ensuring effective regulation and supervision at EU level in emerging areas, such as green bonds and ESG ratings, and maintaining strong international coordination and cooperation.
ESMA will actively contribute to ensuring investor protection and stability of financial markets in the shift towards a more sustainable financial system.”
In its response to the consultation, ESMA focused on the following aspects:
ESG disclosures – currently there is a lack of a standardised disclosure regime for issuers relating to sustainability reporting. ESMA has brought this point to the EC’s attention in response to the NFRD consultation in June 2020, and notified its readiness to assist the EC regarding standard setting in this area;
ESG ratings – the lack of a legally binding definition and comparability among providers and no legal requirements to ensure transparency of underlying methodologies;
ESG benchmarks – the growing need in Europe for methodologically robust and reliable ESG benchmarks which encompass the entire ESG spectrum, including social and governance aspects;
EU green bonds – the establishment of supervision of third-party verifiers of green bond standards at the European level; and
Ecolabels for retail sustainable financial products – the effects of eco-labelling of products and whether broadening the scope of ecolabels to a wider range of financial products is necessary.
The Chairs of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESMA, the European Banking Authority and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) have submitted a joint letter to the EC highlighting common main messages which are of particular importance for Europe’s strategy in the area of sustainable finance.
Compliments of the European Securities and Markets Authority.

The EU is supporting the economic recovery in all Member States by injecting almost €2.2 billion into 140 key transport projects. These projects will help build missing transport links across the continent, support sustainable transport and create jobs. The projects will receive funding through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the EU’s grant scheme supporting transport infrastructure.
With this budget, the EU will deliver on its climate objectives set out in the European Green Deal. A very strong emphasis is on projects reinforcing railways, including cross-border links and connections to ports and airports. Inland waterway transport is boosted through more capacity and better multimodal connections to the road and rail networks. In the maritime sector, priority is given to short-sea-shipping projects based on alternative fuels and the installation of on-shore power supply for ports to cut emissions from docked ships.
Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said: “The €2.2 billion EU contribution to this crucial transport infrastructure will help kick-start the recovery, and we expect it to generate €5 billion in investments. The type of projects we invest in ranges from inland waterways transport to multimodal connections, alternative fuels to massive railroad infrastructure. The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is one of our key instruments in creating a crisis-proof and resilient transport system – vital now and in the long run.”
The EU will support rail infrastructure projects located on the trans-European transport (TEN-T) core network with a total of €1.6 billion (55 projects). This includes the Rail Baltica project, which integrates the Baltic States in the European rail network, as well as the cross-border section of the railway line between Dresden (Germany) and Prague (Czechia).
It will also support the shift to greener fuels for transport (19 projects) with almost €142 million. A number of projects involve converting vessels so they may run on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), as well as installing corresponding infrastructure in ports.
Road transport will also see the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, namely through the installation of 17,275 charging points on the road network and the deployment of 355 new buses.
Nine projects will contribute to an interoperable railway system in the EU and the seamless operation of trains across the continent through the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), Upgrading locomotives and railway track to the unified European train control system will boost safety, decrease travel times and optimise track usage. The nine projects will receive over €49.8 million.
Background
The projects were selected for funding via two competitive calls for proposals launched in October 2019 (regular CEF Transport call) and November 2019 (CEF Transport Blending Facility call). The EU’s financial contribution comes in the form of grants, with different co-financing rates depending on the project type. For 10 projects selected under the Blending Facility, EU support is to be combined with additional financing from banks (via a loan, debt, equity or any other repayable form of support).
Overall, under the CEF programme, €23.2 billion is available for grants from the EU’s 2014-2020 budget to co-fund Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) projects in the EU Member States. Since 2014, the first CEF programming year, six calls for project proposals have been launched (one per year). In total, CEF has so far supported 794 projects in the transport sector, worth a total of €21.1 billion.
Next steps
For both calls, given EU Member States’ approval of the selected projects, the Commission will adopt formal financing decisions in the coming days. The Commission’s Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) will sign the grant agreements with the project beneficiaries at the latest by January 2021.
More information
Connecting Europe Facility 2014-2019 (country overview)
CEF Call 2019 – More information on the selected projects (Brochure – 169 pages)
Maps of EU railway projects
List of selected projects / List of selected projects (Blending Facility)
All selected projects in one list
Q&A: How are projects selected?
European Year of Rail 2021
Transport Infrastructure & Investment
INEA – Innovation and Networks Executive Agency
Compliments of the European Commission.

However, it considers that Commission Decision 2010/87 on standard contractual clauses for the transfer of personal data to processors established in third countries is valid.
Read the full press release here: The Court of Justice invalidates Decision 2016/1250 on the adequacy of the protection provided by the EU-US Data Protection Shield
Compliments of the European Commission.

The European Commission has today adopted an ambitious new Tax Package to ensure that EU tax policy supports Europe’s economic recovery and long-term growth. The Package is built on the twin pillars of fairness and simplicity. Fair taxation remains a top priority for the European Commission, as a means of protecting public revenues, which will play an important role for the EU’s economic recovery in the short-run and prosperity in the long-run.
Today’s Package seeks to boost tax fairness, by intensifying the fight against tax abuse, curbing unfair tax competition and increasing tax transparency. In parallel, it focusses on simplifying tax rules and procedures, to improve the environment for businesses across the EU. This includes removing tax obstacles and administrative burdens for taxpayers in many sectors, so that it is easier for companies to thrive and grow in the Single Market.
Today’s Tax Package is made up of three separate but related initiatives:
The Tax Action Plan presents 25 distinct actions to make taxation simpler, fairer and better attuned to the modern economy over the coming years. These actions will make life easier for honest taxpayers, by removing obstacles at every step, from registration to reporting, payment, verification and dispute resolution. The Action Plan will help Member States to harness the potential of data and new technologies, to better fight tax fraud, improve compliance and reduce administrative burdens.
The proposal on administrative cooperation (DAC 7) extends EU tax transparency rules to digital platforms, so that those who make money through the sale of goods or services on platforms pay their fair share of tax too. This new proposal will ensure that Member States automatically exchange information on the revenues generated by sellers on online platforms. The proposal also strengthens and clarifies the rules in other areas in which Member States work together to fight tax abuse, for example through joint tax audits.
The Communication on tax good governance focusses on promoting fair taxation and clamping down on unfair tax competition, in the EU and internationally. To this end, the Commission suggests a reform of the Code of Conduct, which addresses tax competition and tackles harmful tax practices within the EU. It also proposes improvements to the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, which deals with non-EU countries that refuse to follow internationally agreed standards. This has, so far encouraged third countries to adopt tax good governance standards, but more needs to be done. The Communication also outlines the EU’s approach to work together with developing countries in the area of taxation, in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development agenda.
Today’s Package is the first part of a comprehensive and ambitious EU tax agenda for the coming years. The Commission will also work on a new approach to business taxation for the 21st century, to address the challenges of the digital economy and ensure all multinationals pay their fair share. In the context of the Green Deal, the Commission will make proposals to ensure that taxation supports the EU’s objective of reaching climate neutrality by 2050. This multi-faceted approach to reforming taxation in the EU aims to make taxation fairer, greener and fit for the modern economy, thus contributing to long-term, sustainable, inclusive growth.
Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that works for People, said: “Now more than ever, Member States need secure tax revenues to invest in the people and businesses who need it most. At the same time, we need to break down tax obstacles and make it easier for EU companies to innovate, invest and grow. Today’s Tax Package takes us in the right direction, helping to make taxation fairer, more user-friendly and more adapted to our digital world.”
Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy, said, “Fair taxation is the springboard that will help our economy bounce back from the crisis. We need to make life easier for honest citizens and businesses when it comes to paying their taxes, and harder for fraudsters and tax cheats. These proposals will help Member States to secure the revenues they need to invest in people and infrastructure, while creating a better tax environment for citizens and businesses throughout Europe.”
For More Information
For more information, see here.
Q&A
Compliments of the European Commission.

Credit standards for loans to firms remain favourable, supported by fiscal and monetary measures
Surge in firms’ demand for loans continues to reflect emergency liquidity needs
Credit standards for loans to households tighten further
Credit standards – i.e. banks’ internal guidelines or loan approval criteria – remained broadly unchanged for loans to enterprises (see Chart 1), while tightening further for loans to households for house purchase, consumer credit and other lending to households in the second quarter of 2020, according to the July 2020 bank lending survey (BLS). Banks reported that government loan guarantees played a significant role in most countries for maintaining favourable credit standards for loans to enterprises. Credit standards for loans to households tightened further (a net percentage of 22% for loans to households for house purchase and of 26% for consumer credit and other lending to households). Banks continued to indicate the deteriorated economic outlook, worsened creditworthiness of borrowers and a lower risk tolerance as relevant factors for the tightening of their credit standards for loans to enterprises and households.
In the third quarter of 2020, banks expect a considerable net tightening of credit standards on loans to enterprises, which is reported to be related to the expected end of state guarantee schemes in some large euro area countries. At the same time, the uncertainty of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic still remains high. The net tightening of credit standards on loans to households is expected to continue in the third quarter of 2020.
Overall terms and conditions applied by banks – i.e. the actual terms and conditions agreed in loan contracts tightened slightly in the second quarter of 2020 for new loans to enterprises, while tightening more for housing loans and consumer credit.
Demand from firms for loans or drawing of credit lines surged further in the second quarter of 2020, reaching the highest net balance since the survey was launched in 2003 (see Chart 2). This reflects the particularly strong emergency liquidity needs of firms and possibly precautionary build-up of liquidity buffers during the period when lockdown measures were in force across the euro area. Banks reported that financing needs for inventories and working capital were the main factor underlying the loan demand from firms, which more than offset the negative contribution to loan demand from fixed investment. Net demand for housing loans declined strongly in the second quarter of 2020 and the net demand for consumer credit and other lending to households reached a record low since the survey was launched in 2003. The demand for loans from households was dampened by weaker consumer confidence, worsened housing market prospects and lower spending on durable goods.
Banks expect that net demand for loans to enterprises will increase less in the third quarter of 2020. Banks also expect an increase in net demand for housing loans and in particular for consumer credit and other lending to households in the third quarter of 2020.
Banks reported that non-performing loans (NPLs) had a tightening impact on credit standards and on terms and conditions for all loan categories in the first half of 2020. Risk perceptions and risk aversion related to the general economic outlook and borrowers’ creditworthiness were the main drivers of the tightening impact of NPL ratios.
The euro area bank lending survey, which is conducted four times a year, was developed by the Eurosystem in order to improve its understanding of banks’ lending behaviour in the euro area. The results reported in the July 2020 survey relate to changes observed in the second quarter of 2020 and expected changes in the third quarter of 2020, unless otherwise indicated. The July 2020 survey round was conducted between 5 and 23 June 2020. A total of 144 banks were surveyed in this round, with a response rate of 100%.
Compliments of the European Central Bank.

Together with our members we are creating a Video series of first-hand accounts of the Pandemic’s impact, both personally & professionally.

We invite you to join us today for a first-hand look at the impact of the global shutdown following the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak – Today we are featuring Sophie Lechner, Founder & CEO of Global Commerce Education a Member of the EACCNY.
The questions we asked our members for this series are:1) What are some challenges you, personally and your organization have faced?2) What are some of the most surprising (positive, innovative) responses/changes you have witnessed?3) How will this experience change us going forward, as a society and in terms of how we do business?

EACCNY has its finger on the pulse of how this worldwide pandemic is effecting companies and organizations on both sides of the Atlantic. EACC is where Americans & Europeans connect to do business.

The European Commission has welcomed a list of ‘best practices’ agreed by the financial sector, and consumer and business organisations, to help further mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It sets out concretely how different market participants can support citizens and businesses throughout the crisis.
Today’s ‘best practices’ cover several issues, including:
Payment moratoria for consumer and business loans, and for insurance contributions: these measures can help those facing financial difficulties by deferring payments;
Enabling safer cashless payments while ensuring cash payments remain available for those who need them;
Ensuring loans aimed at mitigating the impact of coronavirus are provided swiftly, and that the fees and interest rates incurred are fair;
Legitimate insurance claims are processed and paid out as quickly as possible.
Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People said: “Our goal right now is to make sure that the liquidity taps are kept turned on and that consumers and especially smaller companies can get the financial support they need. I warmly welcome the extensive dialogue that we have had with the European financial sector, and business and consumer representatives. Our fruitful discussions have led to today’s ‘best practices’ list. I invite all those concerned to make full use of this valuable tool. We will take stock of the situation in September and continue the discussion on how to best ensure continuous flows of credit, as part of the recovery.”
Today’s ‘best practices’ list follows two roundtable meetings facilitated by the Commission with consumer and business representatives, European banks, other lenders, and the insurance sector. The discussions are part of a wider effort by the Commission to increase lending to the real economy, including a banking package in April. The Commission will facilitate a further roundtable in September to take stock of progress and will continue the dialogue with stakeholders to support lending during the recovery. All participants are encouraged to follow these best practices.
Today’s text has been agreed by all roundtable participants and includes:
Best practices for bank and non-bank lending to consumers;
Best practices for bank and non-bank lending to businesses;
Best practices for insurers.
Background
The economic shock caused by the coronavirus pandemic is having a far-reaching impact on businesses and consumers. On 28 April 2020, the Commission adopted a banking package to help facilitate bank lending to support the economy. The swift agreement of the package by the European Parliament and Council has meant that the targeted legislative changes included in the package can already be in place for the second quarter of 2020.
As part of this package, the Commission announced a dialogue with the European financial sector, as well as business and consumer representatives. The purpose of this dialogue was to explore how different financial players could support citizens and businesses throughout the pandemic. On 28 May, the Commission organised a first roundtable meeting with stakeholders to discuss relief measures where all represented parties declared their openness to cooperation and dialogue. As a follow up, on 29 June, the Commission organised a second roundtable meeting. Today’s ‘best practices’ list was agreed following this meeting.
Over 25 organisations participated in both roundtables including from:
Consumer organisations
Business federations
Insurance companies
Banks
Access the report here: Best practices agreed by the financial sector and consumer and business organisations to help further mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic
Compliments of the European Commission.