The European Commission today proposed to the EU Member States to purchase an additional 200 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by BioNTech and Pfizer, with the option to acquire another 100 million doses.
This would enable the EU to purchase up to 600 million doses of this vaccine, which is already being used across the EU.
The additional doses will be delivered starting in the second quarter of 2021.
The EU has acquired a broad portfolio of vaccines with different technologies. It has secured up to 2.3 billion doses from the most promising vaccine candidates for Europe and its neighbourhood.
In addition to the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine, a second vaccine, produced by Moderna, was authorised on 6 January 2021. Other vaccines are expected to be approved soon.
This vaccine portfolio would enable the EU not only to cover the needs of its whole population, but also to supply vaccines to neighbouring countries.
Compliments of the European Commission.
The post EU Commission proposes to purchase up to 300 million additional doses of BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

Paris, 14 November 2020 | by Pedro Sánchez, President of the Spanish Government and Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD. You may view the OECD 60th anniversary Leaders’ Commemoration Event here |
On 14 December this year, we are commemorating the 60th anniversary of the signature of the Convention establishing the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD succeeded the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), which was created in 1948 to administer American and Canadian aid under the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after the Second World War. Solidarity, ambition and international co- operation inspired the development of the Marshall Plan and the creation of the OECD. Today, perhaps more than at any other time in the last sixty years, the world needs, once again, to draw inspiration from those values, as it confronts the worst health, economic and social crisis since the Second World War.
The OECD’s vocation has always been to achieve greater well-being for its Members and partners around the world by advising governments on how to deliver policies that support resilient, inclusive and sustainable growth. The OECD has helped advance structural reforms and multilateral solutions to global challenges through evidence-based policy analysis as well as recommendations, standards and global policy networks in increasingly close collaboration with other multilateral fora, such as the UN, the G7 and the G20. Examples of the OECD’s influence include the “Polluter Pays” principle, developed in the 1970s, student assessments under PISA or ongoing efforts to promote tax transparency and harness the potential of human-centric Artificial Intelligence.
The COVID-19 pandemic has left no country or region untouched. As we continue to fight the virus and prepare for the recovery, our efforts at home need to be complemented with an equally decisive and ambitious response through international co-operation. This crisis must be an opportunity, a turning point, for reinforced and more effective multilateralism. We need to work together to develop effective global solutions for today’s global challenges: the COVID-19 recovery, climate change, biodiversity loss, growing inequalities, the concentration of wealth, digitalisation, or the future of work.
This has been the main message of the OECD Ministerial that Spain chaired this year. For the first time in four years, OECD Members were able to put aside their differences and agreed on a statement reflecting their collective vision for a strong, resilient, inclusive and green recovery from COVID-19. This was a powerful message: when it was needed the most, the OECD and its Members stepped up to the challenge with a single voice.
It is now time to put this vision in motion, to turn words into action. Our collective efforts should focus on three key areas.
The first priority for the recovery should be to contain and eradicate the virus. The trade-off between lives and livelihoods is a false dilemma. The imminent roll-out of effective vaccines is excellent news. But to be effective in beating the pandemic, vaccines and treatments need to be produced at scale, equitably distributed worldwide and affordable for all. Ensuring that all people can be immunised is both a humanitarian imperative and a precondition to secure health and prosperity. If disease is thriving anywhere, it remains a threat everywhere. Having strong, resilient and inclusive healthcare systems is another lesson from this crisis and one that needs to be incorporated in domestic priorities, but also as part of our development co-operation programmes. We need to support the most vulnerable countries, which do not have the financial means to respond to the pandemic and lack solid social protection systems to cushion its effects on their populations.
The second priority is to create the conditions for a broad-based recovery. We need to work together to develop common approaches to restore international mobility as soon as possible. We must also preserve the benefits of free, fair and inclusive trade as an engine of growth and prosperity, while strengthening the resilience of global value chains and levelling the playing field. The post-COVID-19 world is going to be more digital, and international co-operation is required to make sure we address the issues of skills, privacy, security and competition. Reaching a global, consensus-based solution by mid-2021 on the tax challenges arising from the growing digitalisation of the world economy, based on the OECD’s initiative, is another critical objective.
The third priority is to support a transformative recovery and develop a new narrative on economic growth. National recovery and resilience plans constitute unique opportunities not just to jump- start our economies, but also to undertake bold and transformative action to make them more equal, cohesive and environmentally sound, in line with the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. The COVID-19 crisis has increased inequalities, while climate change, biodiversity loss and other environmental emergencies loom large. Analysis by the OECD shows that ambitious climate action to decarbonise our economies can be a source of growth, incomes and jobs. The COP26 in Glasgow and the UN Biodiversity Conference, both to be held in 2021, will be tests for our collective determination. Our single, most important intergenerational responsibility is to protect the planet. This new narrative also requires fostering an economic and productivity growth model based on fair wages, decent working conditions and enhanced social dialogue.
Over the last decade, the OECD has been a leading voice in promoting an approach to economic growth that combines inclusiveness and environmental sustainability. Building on solid evidence and data, we need to work together to develop this narrative further, measuring outcomes beyond GDP, and developing a consensus around a new economic framework that reconciles people, prosperity and the planet.
We are living in extraordinary times. The challenges ahead are too significant for any one country to tackle them alone. Only through collective action will we be able to address them and “build back better” towards more resilient, more inclusive and greener economies and societies. With a long- term vision, a strong ambition and an enlightened sense of mission, as we celebrate the OECD’s 60th Anniversary, let us draw inspiration from its history and its accomplishments, to deliver better policies for better lives for the generations to come.
Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.
Compliments of the OECD.
The post OECD | A multilateral agenda for a strong, resilient, green and inclusive recovery from COVID-19 first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) today announced the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding cooperation and the exchange of information with respect to certain registered derivatives clearing organizations established in the United States that are central counterparties (CCPs) recognized by ESMA under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).
Through the MOU, ESMA and the CFTC express their desire for enhanced cooperation as to the larger U.S. CCPs operating in the European Union with provisions that expand upon the collaboration set out in the 2016 CFTC-ESMA MOU related to recognized CCPs. The MOU reflects ESMA’s and the CFTC’s commitment to strengthening their mutual cooperative relationship, which has continued to flourish under the leadership of Chair Steven Maijoor and Chairman Heath P. Tarbert.
“We look forward to building upon our strong relationship with ESMA and embarking upon a cooperative relationship with ESMA’s new CCP Supervisory Committee,” said Suyash Paliwal, Director of the CFTC’s Office of International Affairs. “The deferential approach embodied in this MOU is a major milestone in the years-long engagement between the CFTC and its EU counterparts on the implementation of EMIR as amended.”
“I am pleased to see ESMA entering a phase of closer cooperation with the CFTC,” said Chair of ESMA’s CCP Supervisory Committee Klaus Löber. “This MOU sets out the basis for the enhanced collaboration between our institutions and is an important step towards building the risk-based and outcome-focused supervision of CCPs in accordance with the amended European Market Infrastructure Regulation.”
Compliments of the European Securities and Market Authority.
The post CFTC & ESMA sign enhanced MOU related to certain recognized central couterparties first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

EU-UK relations are changing following Brexit and the deal reached at the end of 2020. Find out what this means for you.
The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. There was a transition period during which the UK remained part of the Single market and Customs Union to allow for negotiations on the future relations. Following intense negotiations, an agreement on future EU-UK relations was concluded end of December 2020. Although it will be provisionally applied, it will still need to be approved by the Parliament before it can formally enter into force. MEPs are currently scrutinising the text in the specialised parliamentary committees before voting on it during a plenary session.
A number of issues were already covered by the withdrawal agreement, which the EU and the UK agreed at the end of 2019. This agreement on the separation issues deals with the protection of the rights of EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens living in other parts of the EU, the UK’s financial commitments undertaken as a member state, as well as border issues, especially on the Isle of Ireland.
Living and working in the UK or the EU
EU citizens in the UK or UK citizens in an EU member state who were already living there before January 2021 are allowed to continue living and working where they are now provided they registered and were granted settlement permits by the national authorities of the member states or the UK.
For those UK citizens not already living in the EU, their right to live and work in any EU country apart from the Republic of Ireland (as the UK has a separate agreement with them) is not automatically granted and can be subject to restrictions. Also, they no longer have their qualifications automatically recognised in EU countries, which was previously the case.
For UK citizens wanting to visit or stay in the EU for more than 90 days for any reason need to meet the requirements for entry and stay for people from outside the EU. This also applies to UK citizens with a second home in the EU.
People from the EU wanting to move to the UK for a long-term stay or work – meaning more than six months – will need to meet the migration conditions set out by the UK government, including applying for a visa.
Travelling
UK citizens can visit the EU for up to 90 days within any 180-day period without needing a visa.
However, UK citizens can no longer make use of the EU’s fast track passport controls and customs lanes. They also need to have a return ticket and be able to prove they have enough funds for their stay. They also need to have at least six months left on their passport.
EU citizens can visit the UK for up to six months without needing a visa. EU citizens will need to present a valid passport to visit the UK.
Healthcare
EU citizens temporarily staying in the UK still benefit from emergency healthcare based on the European Health Insurance Card. For stays longer than six months, they need to pay a healthcare surcharge.
Pensioners continue to benefit from healthcare where they live. The country paying for their pension will reimburse the country of residence.
Erasmus
The UK has decided to stop participating in the popular Erasmus+ exchange programme and to create its own exchange programme. Therefore EU students will not be able to participate in exchange programme in the UK anymore. However, people from Northern Ireland can continue to take part.
Trade in goods and services
With the agreement, goods exchanged between the UK and EU countries are not subject to tariffs or quotas. However, there are new procedures for moving goods to and from the UK as border controls on the respect of the internal market rules (sanitary, security, social, environmental standard for example) or applicable UK regulation are in place. This means more red tape and additional costs. For example, all imports into the EU are subject to customs formalities while they must also meet all EU standards so they are subject to regulatory checks and controls. This does not apply to goods being moved between Northern Ireland and the EU.
Regarding services, UK companies no longer have the automatic right to offer services across the EU. If they want to continue operating in the EU, they will need to establish themselves here.
Compliments of the European Parliament
The post Brexit deal: how new EU-UK relations will affect you first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

The Commission has announced today the first round of direct equity investment through the new European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund. 42 highly innovative start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) will together receive equity financing of around €178 million to develop and scale up breakthrough innovations in health, circular economy, advanced manufacturing and other areas. Among them, the French company CorWave is the first EU company in which the EIC Fund is investing.
Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth said: “Europe has many innovative, talented start-ups, but too often these companies remain small or relocate elsewhere. This new form of financing – combining grants and equity – is unique to the European Innovation Council. It will bridge the funding gap for highly innovative companies, unlock additional private investments and enable them scale up in Europe.”
The equity investments, ranging from €500.000 to €15 million per beneficiary, complement the grant financing, which has already been provided through the EIC Accelerator Pilot to enable companies to scale up faster. This is the first time the Commission has made direct equity or quasi-equity investments, namely equity investment blended with a grant, in start-up companies, with ownership stakes expected to range from 10% to 25%.
Under the EIC Accelerator a total of 293 companies have already been selected for funding worth over €563 million in grants since December 2019. Among those, 159 companies have been selected to additionally receive the new equity investments from the EIC Fund. The 42 companies announced today are the first of this group to successfully pass the evaluation and due diligence process. The other 117 companies are in the pipeline to receive investments pending the outcome of the relevant process.
CorWave: first EU company to sign investment agreement with the EIC Fund

The highly innovative French company CorWave was the very first to receive a direct equity investment. CorWave’s mission is to bring a new standard of care to patients with life-threatening heart failure. The €15 million EIC Fund investment has played a critical role by mobilising additional investors to unite behind the French SME, which led to a €35 million of investments in the fourth stage of start-up financing for CorWave.
This sizeable venture will enable CorWave to successfully bring to the market and scale up its innovative medical solution “Left Ventricular Assist Device” (LVAD), which will significantly improve the lives of those with advanced heart failure, reducing by half severe complications and the need for rehospitalisation, while at the same time improving significantly their quality of life. CorWave’s high-growth potential will also translate into high-quality jobs in the EU.
Next steps for beneficiaries
The investment agreements with the other target companies are now being finalised, and will be announced shortly. A few examples of this first round of investments:

Hiber (The Netherlands): an international satellite and communication company that provides global and affordable Internet of Things connectivity;

XSUN (France): a solar aircraft company that designs energy-independent drones to be fully autonomous so they can operate without any human intervention;

GEOWOX LIMITED (Ireland): a technological company that provides automated property valuations, leveraging high-quality open data and machine learning models;

EPI-ENDO PHARMACEUTICALS EHF (Iceland): a pharmaceutical company focused on developing a proprietary portfolio of drugs to address the huge global burden of chronic respiratory diseases.

These first investments are preceded by a thorough evaluation by external experts, a due diligence process overseen by the external practitioners and investors on the EIC Fund Investment Committee, and a final decision by the EIC Fund Board of Directors.
Background
Established in June 2020, the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund is a breakthrough initiative of the Commission to make direct equity and quasi-equity investments (between €500.000 and €15 million) in the capital of start-ups and SMEs. It is first of its kind in terms of EU intervention in direct equity-type investments. In its current stage, it makes such investments, in combination with grants, as part of blended finance under the EIC Accelerator Pilot. The allocated maximum funding (grants and equity) can reach €17.5 million.
The EIC Fund aims to fill a critical financing gap faced by innovative companies when bringing their technologies from high technology readiness levels to the commercialization stage. The Fund will help to fill this financing gap at the start-up stage where the EU venture capital market still underperforms compared to the global venture capital market. Its main purpose is not to maximise the return on the investments, but to have a high impact by accompanying companies with breakthrough and disruptive technologies in their growth as patient capital investor.
The Fund aims to support equality and gender balance, and to highly contribute to sustainability with a particular focus on health, resilience and the green and digital transitions. Its role has become even more important today, as the coronavirus crisis had a very strong impact on many SMEs in the EU, including many innovative startups.
Compliments of the European Commission.
The post European Innovation Council Fund: first equity investments of €178 million in breakthrough innovations first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

Today, the European Commission has granted a conditional marketing authorisation (CMA) for the COVID‑19 vaccine developed by Moderna, the second COVID-19 vaccine authorised in the EU. This authorisation follows a positive scientific recommendation based on a thorough assessment of the safety, effectiveness and quality of the vaccine by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and is endorsed by the Member States.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “We are providing more COVID-19 vaccines for Europeans. With the Moderna vaccine, the second one now authorised in the EU, we will have a further 160 million doses. And more vaccines will come. Europe has secured up to two billion doses of potential COVID-19 vaccines. We’ll have more than enough safe and effective vaccines for protecting all Europeans.”
Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “We are all in this together and united. This is why we have negotiated the broadest vaccine portfolio in the world for all our Member States. Today we are authorising a second safe and effective vaccine from Moderna, which together with BioNTech-Pfizer, will ensure that 460 million doses will be rolled out with increasing speed in the EU, and more will come. Member States have to ensure that the pace of vaccinations follows suit. Our efforts will not stop until vaccines are available for everyone in the EU.”
Moderna submitted on 30 November 2020 an application for marketing authorisation to EMA, which had already started a rolling review of the data in November. Thanks to this rolling review, EMA has been assessing the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine as data has become available. EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) has thoroughly assessed the data and recommended by consensus that a formal conditional marketing authorisation is granted. A conditional marketing authorisation is one of EU’s regulatory mechanisms for facilitating early access to medicines that fulfil an unmet medical need, including in emergency situations such as the current pandemic.
On the basis of EMA’s positive opinion, the Commission has verified all the elements supporting the marketing authorisation and consulted Member States before granting the conditional market authorisation.
The Moderna vaccine is based on messenger RNA (mRNA). mRNA plays a fundamental role in biology, transferring instructions from DNA to the cells’ protein making machinery. In an mRNA vaccine, these instructions produce harmless fragments of the virus, which the human body uses to build an immune response to prevent or fight disease. When a person is given the vaccine, their cells will read the genetic instructions and produce a spike protein, a protein on the outer surface of the virus which it uses to enter the body’s cells and cause disease. The person’s immune system will then treat this protein as foreign and produce natural defences — antibodies and T cells — against it.
Next steps
Moderna, with whom the Commission signed a contract on 25 November, will deliver the total amount of 160 million doses between the first and the third quarters of 2021. It will add to the 300 million doses of the vaccine distributed by BioNTech/Pfizer, the first vaccine to have been authorised in the EU on 21 December 2020.
Background
A conditional marketing authorisation (CMA) is an authorisation of medicines on the basis of less complete data required for a normal marketing authorisation. Such a CMA may be considered if the benefit of a medicine’s immediate availability to patients clearly outweighs the risk linked to the fact that not all the data are yet available. However, once a CMA has been granted, companies must provide within certain deadlines further data including from ongoing or new studies to confirm that the benefits continue to outweigh the risks.
Moderna submitted on 30 November 2020 an application for a CMA for their vaccine to EMA. EMA has already been assessing data on the vaccine’s safety, effectiveness and quality and results from laboratory studies and clinical trials in the context of a rolling review. This rolling review and the assessment of the CMA application allowed EMA to quickly conclude on the safety, effectiveness and quality of the vaccine. EMA recommended granting the conditional marketing authorisation as the benefits of the vaccine outweigh its risks.
The European Commission has verified whether all necessary elements – scientific justifications, product information, educational material to healthcare professionals, labelling, obligations to marketing authorisation holders, conditions for use, etc. – were clear and sound. The Commission also consulted the Member States, as they are responsible for the vaccines marketing and the use of the product in their countries. Following the Member States’ endorsement and on the basis of its own analysis, the Commission decided to grant the conditional market authorisation.
Compliments of the European Commission.
The post European Commission authorises second safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19 first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

A salient feature of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been the sharp and deep decline in mobility, which has caused a slump in tourism, trade in travel services and consumption by non-residents. Lockdowns and social distancing measures led to strong declines in otherwise stable services consumption. This box takes stock of developments in the tourism sector, discusses how the impact of these developments on consumption has varied across countries and reviews the near-term prospects for a recovery in tourism and travel.
The slump in tourism and travel, reflecting restrictions and uncertainties related to people’s movement across borders (e.g. owing to quarantine measures), led to a collapse in consumption by non-residents. The effects of this collapse can be seen by looking at the difference between domestic consumption and national consumption (see panel (a) of Chart A). The former includes consumption of non-residents, whereas the latter only includes that of residents.[1] For example, in Italy and Spain, domestic consumption by non-residents plummeted by more than 90% year on year in the second quarter of 2020, and similar declines were recorded in consumption expenditure of residents of these countries abroad, significantly exceeding the fall in national consumption.
Because of the decline in cross-border travel, consumption gaps – the excess of domestic consumption over national consumption owing to net expenditures by non-residents – almost closed in the second quarter of 2020 (see panel (b) of Chart A).[2] In other words, tourism has worked as a shock amplification channel during the COVID-19 pandemic in countries which are net exporters of travel services (i.e. countries which receive a lot of tourists, such as Spain, Greece and Portugal), as they experienced a sharp contraction of domestic private consumption, and as a shock cushioning channel in countries which are net importers of travel services (e.g. Germany).[3] More specifically, in net creditors of travel services, the collapse of non-resident consumption expenditure caused domestic consumption to fall by more than national consumption, whereas the opposite occurred in countries which were net debtors of travel services before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This pattern is also reflected in the sharp deterioration of the travel trade balance of the countries which are net exporters of travel services and in the improvement of the balance of net importers (see panel (a) of Chart A). Available data for the third quarter of 2020 show a partial and incomplete return of consumption gaps to the levels seen before the pandemic.

Chart A

National and domestic private consumption expenditure (PCE) and trade in travel services
(panel (a): year-on-year changes as a percentage (left-hand scale) and as a share of GDP (right-hand scale) in the second quarter of 2020; panel (b): share of GDP)

Sources: Eurostat and ECB staff calculations.Notes: Euro area represents the euro area aggregate. In panel (a) the trade balance in travel services is shown as a share of GDP. In panel (b) PCE gaps are computed as the difference between domestic PCE and national PCE, which corresponds to the net balance of foreign residents’ expenditure domestically minus domestic residents’ expenditure abroad. In panel (b) the latest observations are for the third quarter of 2020, with the exception of Greece. For the euro area the third quarter of 2020 has been estimated based on partially available information for euro area countries, which does not include data for Greece and Luxembourg.

A partial rebound notwithstanding, the data show that the foreign tourism sector remained depressed in the third quarter of 2020. Data on tourist arrivals continued to show significantly low figures for foreign arrivals when compared with the situation before the outbreak of COVID-19 (see panel (b) of Chart B). By contrast, domestic tourism remained relatively resilient and was able to partially compensate for the loss of foreign tourism, despite remaining below the levels seen in 2019. During the summer, short-haul destinations were more in demand and several governments launched promotional initiatives.[4] However, the latest available data suggest a fragile and incomplete recovery. In the euro area, tourist arrivals were less than two-thirds of the levels seen a year earlier. Tourism in countries relying on foreign arrivals, such as Greece and Portugal (see panel (a) of Chart B), still remains far below normal levels. Likewise, turnover in restaurants, and less so in accommodation, recovered but still stood at very low levels, supported by domestic tourists and locals.

Chart B
Tourist arrivals and services turnover
(panel (a): percentage of total; panel (b): ratio relative to the same quarter in the previous year)

Source: Eurostat.Notes: Owing to data availability, the ratios for tourist arrivals refer to August and September for Greece. Ratios for food and accommodation services turnover are not available for Greece or Italy.

Following the widespread resurgence of COVID-19 cases, since October 2020 most euro area countries have been reimposing restrictions. Visitors are currently subject to testing or quarantine in most countries, and entry for visitors from non-EU countries is only allowed for countries considered safe.[5] In most euro area countries, governments reimposed curfews and closed tourist attractions and recreational facilities such as museums, theatres, bars and restaurants. The reintroduction of travel restrictions since October will likely imply that the substitution of foreign tourism with domestic tourism will continue to affect the dynamics of tourism services in the near term. The latest restrictions may also alter the geographical impact of the crisis on the sector, as winter tourism destinations will be more severely affected this time.
Forward-looking indicators point to a renewed deterioration of the tourism sector as restrictions are reintroduced (see Chart C). Owing to travel bans, restrictions and renewed lockdown measures (shown by the green line), travel decreased after the summer and confidence effects are weighing strongly on bookings. This is shown by a reversal in the recovery of flight capacity (red line) which occurred across euro area countries. According to the latest data, flight capacity currently stands at about 25% of pre-COVID-19 levels. Forward-looking indicators such as PMI new orders in the tourism and recreation sectors declined again in November, staying in contractionary territory. Confidence in the accommodation industry also remains depressed and well below its historical average, as suggested by the respective European Commission confidence indicator.

Chart C
Latest developments in tourism
(left-hand scale: standardised index; right-hand scale: percentage relative to the same period in the previous year)

Sources: Markit, HAVER, European Commission, OAG, Eurostat and Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker.Notes: The PMI is for the EU. Accommodation is measured by the European confidence indicator. The data on flights are for Germany, Spain, France and Italy only. The stringency index is an average across euro area countries weighted by the share of tourist arrivals in 2019. Complements (100-value, where 100 is maximum stringency) of the stringency index are reported so that an increase in the series corresponds to easing and a decrease to higher stringency.

Compliments of the European Central Bank.
The post ECB | Developments in the tourism sector during the COVID-19 pandemic first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

1 January 2021 |

Assets (EUR millions)
Balance
Difference compared with last week due to
i)transactions
ii)quarter-end adjustments

Totals/sub-totals may not add up, due to rounding

i)
ii)

1
Gold and gold receivables
536,542
0
−22,739

2
Claims on non-euro area residents denominated in foreign currency
347,179
1,313
−10,877

2.1
Receivables from the IMF
85,379
0
−1,700

2.2
Balances with banks and security investments, external loans and other external assets
261,800
1,314
−9,178

3
Claims on euro area residents denominated in foreign currency
23,437
−373
−726

4
Claims on non-euro area residents denominated in euro
14,337
1,375
−4

4.1
Balances with banks, security investments and loans
14,337
1,375
−4

4.2
Claims arising from the credit facility under ERM II
0
0
0

5
Lending to euro area credit institutions related to monetary policy operations denominated in euro
1,793,194
355
0

5.1
Main refinancing operations
468
206
0

5.2
Longer-term refinancing operations
1,792,574
0
0

5.3
Fine-tuning reverse operations
0
0
0

5.4
Structural reverse operations
0
0
0

5.5
Marginal lending facility
152
149
0

5.6
Credits related to margin calls
0
0
0

6
Other claims on euro area credit institutions denominated in euro
25,328
−6,592
0

7
Securities of euro area residents denominated in euro
3,890,916
−820
−9,126

7.1
Securities held for monetary policy purposes
3,694,642
−819
−9,397

7.2
Other securities
196,274
−1
271

8
General government debt denominated in euro
22,676
−2
−55

9
Other assets
325,715
6,558
6,374

Total assets
6,979,324
1,816
−37,152

Liabilities (EUR millions)
Balance
Difference compared with last week due to
i)transactions
ii)quarter-end adjustments

Totals/sub-totals may not add up, due to rounding

Compliments of the European Central Bank.
The post ECB | Consolidated financial statement of the Eurosystem first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

On 22 December 2020, the European Commission confirmed its plan for bond issuances in 2021 under its existing borrowing programmes. These include the SURE instrument to support short-term employment schemes in the EU Member States, the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) to refinance debt to two EU countries, as well as the Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to help non-EU countries address the coronavirus crisis. In total, the EU is going to raise at least €62.9 billion under these three programmes. Of this, between €30 and €35 billion are expected to be raised in the first quarter of the year and between €25 billion and €30 billion in the second quarter.
In addition, the Commission will continue preparations for the first issuance under NextGenerationEU, the temporary recovery instrument. The Commission is due to start borrowing to finance the recovery under this tool as soon the legislative process is completed, with the horizon of mid-2021.For this to be legally possible, EU Member States need to ratify the Own Resources Decision in line with their constitutional requirements
Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Johannes Hahn said: “Between mid-October and mid-November, the Commission raised nearly €40 billion under SURE, while in parallel taking forward the rest of our operations. Our debut as a high-volume issuer capable of ensuring favourable conditions and passing them on to our Member States has been a vote of confidence to the EU as an issuer and a borrower. This has made us confident for the near future, when we will be rising to the challenge of successfully completing the implementation of SURE and launching NextGenerationEU.”
The borrowing and lending operations currently foreseen by the European Commission for the first half of 2021 include:

€50.8 billion under SURE

The Commission proposed the SURE programme “Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency” – in April 2020. By September 2020, the decision-making process was completed in a record-speed. So far, the Commission has raised a total of €39.5 billion via three transactions under SURE. The Commission has already disbursed this amount to 15 Member States, directly passing them the favourable funding conditions obtained.
In 2021, the Commission will proceed with further issuances under the SURE programme. These will continue to be issued under the social bond label in the form of large and liquid benchmarks. The Commission may also consider taps of the outstanding ones.
The Council has already approved a total of €90.3 billion in financial support to 18 Member States and the Commission’s current funding plans foresee issuances of €50.8, to complement the €39.5 billion already placed on the market. The respective disbursements will follow accordingly.
The Commission may proceed with further issuances under the EU SURE programme in 2021, up to the maximum available ceiling of €100 billion, depending on Member States’ demand.

€9.75 billion under the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM)

The EFSM was created for the European Commission to provide financial assistance to any EU country experiencing or threatened by severe financial difficulties. Under the EFSM, the Commission provided assistance, conditional on the implementation of reforms, to Ireland and Portugal between 2011 and 2014, and to provide short-term bridge loans to Greece in July 2015.
To extend maturities of the support provided to Ireland and Portugal, the Commission will refinance €9.75 billion of maturing bonds in the first half of 2021. The Commission currently has €46.8 billion of outstanding borrowing under EFSM.

€2.35 billion under the Macro-Financial Assistance programme (MFA)

The MFA is part of the EU’s wider engagement with neighbouring countries and intended as an exceptional EU crisis response instrument. It is available to the EU’s neighbouring countries experiencing balance-of-payments problems.
In 2020, the EU agreed to provide further €3 billion to ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners to help them to limit the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, the Commission already started providing funding under this package.
Further €2.35 billion will follow in 2021, both under the standard MFA assistance programme and the COVID-19 targeted issuance.
The outstanding borrowing under the MFA currently stands at €5.8 billion.
Background
The SURE and NextGenerationEU instruments are part of the European Commission response to the coronavirus and its consequences.
SURE is designed to assist EU Member States in addressing sudden increases in public expenditure to preserve employment. The funds raised under SURE are aimed at helping to cover the costs directly related to the financing of national short-time work schemes, and other similar measures they have put in place as a response to the coronavirus pandemic, including for the self-employed. The loans are underpinned by a system of voluntary guarantees from Member States committed to the EU.
The bonds issued under SURE benefit from a social bond label. This provides investors in these bonds with confidence that the funds mobilised will serve a truly social objective.
*The European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) was created for the European Commission to provide financial assistance to any EU country experiencing or threatened by severe financial difficulties.
The EFSM was used to provide financial assistance conditional on the implementation of reforms to Ireland and Portugal between 2011 and 2014, and to provide short-term bridge loans to Greece in July 2015.
Today, euro area countries in need of financial assistance are expected to turn to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), a permanent intergovernmental institution. The ESM is set up by and for euro area countries.
The EFSM, however, remains in place and can be used if the need arises.
Macro-financial assistance (MFA) is a form of financial aid extended by the EU to partner countries experiencing a balance of payments crisis. It takes the form of medium/long-term loans or grants, or a combination of these, and is only available to countries benefiting from a disbursing International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
MFA is designed for countries geographically, economically and politically close to the EU. These include candidate and potential candidate countries, countries bordering the EU covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and, in certain circumstances, other third countries.
MFA is exceptional in nature and is mobilised on a case-by-case basis to help countries dealing with serious balance-of-payments difficulties. Its objective is to restore a sustainable external financial situation, while encouraging economic adjustments and structural reforms. MFA is intended strictly as a complement to IMF financing.
Compliments of the European Commission.
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