Position papers
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Consultation on the renewed sustainable finance strategy
Capital markets 28 August 2020On 11 December 2019, the European Commission adopted its Communication on a European Green Deal, which significantly increases the EU’s climate action and environmental policy ambitions. A number of levers will need to be pulled in order to build this growth strategy, starting with enshrining the climate-neutrality target in law. On 4 March 2020, the European Commission proposed a European Climate Law to turn the political commitment of climate-neutrality by 2050 into a legal obligation. This follows the European Parliament’s declaration of a climate emergency on 28 November 2019 and the European Council conclusions of 12 December 2019, endorsing the objective of achieving a climate-neutral EU by 2050.
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EAPB Position Paper on the InvestEU Programme
Development, State aid 24 August 2020The European Commission has withdrawn its initial proposal of May 2018 as a response to the Covid-19 Crisis, and submitted a new proposal on 29 May 2020 in which it takes up the Partial Agreement reached by co-legislators in April 2019. Following the new MFF 2021-27 agreement reached by the European Council summit, taking place in mid-July, funding for the InvestEU programme is now set to be cut dramatically to mere EUR 9,142 bn (provisioning for the guarantee fund), compared to the May 2020 proposal of EUR 34,424 bn for the entire seven-year period (calculating the NextGenerationEU funding plus the MFF 2021-27 funding).
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Statement on latest joint letter MiFID II DA/ESG
4 August 2020Our associations are supportive of the European Commission’s aim to create a strong framework for sustainable investment that supports the green transition and understand that the current proposals are central to this. However, as currently drafted, we have serious concerns that these proposals will, in fact, restrict customers’ access to sustainable finance by unduly limiting the range of products that banks, fund managers and insurers are able to offer them.
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EAPB statement on the role of public banks in the context of the COVID 19 crisis
State aid 24 July 2020The national and regional promotional banks and funding agencies, members of the EAPB, have taken measures in response to the Covid-19 crisis, fulfilling their role as counter-cyclical state instruments. About 1 trillion EUR of public support measures has been provided by national and regional promotional banks to ease the impact of the crisis on our economy and society. Now all EU resources of the Next Generation EU and the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) need to be mobilised to ensure a quick recovery while putting the European economy on a sustainable path. The agreement by the Heads of State on the creation of the Recovery Instrument, with a mix of loans and grants totaling 750 bn, is a historic move for the EU. However despite the huge costs stemming from the immediate need to recover from the COVID 19 crisis, the EU should be careful not to cut investments in those sectors which are very important for the future of the EU. It is also crucial to provide local authorities and SMEs with the funding they need in a long-term perspective.
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EAPB response to Targeted review of the General Block Exemption Regulation (State aid): extended scope for national funds to be combined with certain Union programmes (2nd consultation)
Development, State aid 29 June 2020The European Association of Public Banks, EAPB, welcomes the possibility to provide feedback on the second consultation on the Draft Commission Regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty (GBER) . As National and Regional Promotional Banks and institutions (NPBIs) EAPB members perform a public mission of fostering economic development and social cohesion. They act based on a public mandate -defined by law- and support their competent authorities’ socio-political objectives. They thus often also play a key role in granting State aid. Many will also play an important role as Implementing partners of Invest EU.
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