The European Central Bank (ECB) announced the appointments of Petra Senkovic as Director General Secretariat and Secretary to ECB decision-making bodies, and Pedro Gustavo Teixeira as Director General Secretariat to the Supervisory Board and Secretary to the Supervisory Board.
Ms Senkovic, 49, is currently Director General Secretariat and Secretary to the Supervisory Board, a post she has held since November 2015. Prior to that she was Deputy Director General of the ECB Legal Services and worked at a private law firm. She holds a PhD in law from Sorbonne University and a Master of Arts in European law from the College of Europe in Bruges.
Mr Teixeira, 49, is currently Director General Secretariat and Secretary to ECB decision-making bodies, a post he has held since January 2016. He served as Director of the Secretariat and Secretary to the Supervisory Board from January 2014. Mr Teixeira started working at the ECB in 1999 in the areas of prudential supervision and financial stability. He holds a PhD in law from the European University Institute and a Master’s degree in law from the University of Coimbra.
Ms Senkovic and Mr Teixeira will take up their respective new positions on 1 February 2020.
Compliments of the European Central Bank

On 10 December 2019, the EU’s European Research Council (ERC) announced the winners of its latest Consolidator Grant competition: 301 top scientists and scholars across Europe. Funding for these researchers, part of the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, is worth in total €600 million. With this support, the new grantees will have a chance to build up their teams and have far-reaching impact.
The grantees will carry out their projects at universities and research centres in 24 different countries across Europe, with Germany (52 grants), the United Kingdom (50), France (43) and the Netherlands (32) as leading locations. In this competition, researchers of 37 nationalities received funding, amongst them are notably Germans (55 grants), French (33), Dutch (28) and Italians (23). The research projects proposed by the new grantees cover a wide range of topics in physical sciences and engineering, life sciences, as well as social sciences and humanities. See project examples.
13 U.S. scientists conducting research projects in Europe have also secured grants worth €25 million:
Building a Better Tomorrow: Development Knowledge and Practice in Central Asia and Beyond, Dr. Artemy KALINOVSKY, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Cortical gradients of functional integration, Dr. Daniel MARGULIES, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, CNRS, France
Interrogating native CRISPR arrays to achieve scalable combinatorial screens and dissect genetic redundancy, Prof. Chase BEISEL, Helmholtz-Zentrum fuer Infektionsforschung GmbH, Germany
Financing Frictions in High-Potential Entrepreneurship, Prof. Ramana NANDA, Harvard University, USA
Geomorphic and Sedimentary responses to Climate Periodicity, Prof. Taylor SCHILDGEN, Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam – Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum, Germany
Cerebellar circuits for locomotor learning in space and time, Dr. Megan CAREY, Fundacao D. Anna de Sommer Champalimaud e Dr. Carlos Montez Champalimaud, Portugal
Motor cortical beta bursts for movement planning and evaluation: Mechanisms, functional roles, and development, Dr. James BONAIUTO, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France
Music at the Frontiers of Artificial Creativity and Criticism, Dr. Bob STURM, KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLAN, Sweden
Nanoscale Design using Virtual Reality, Dr. David GLOWACKI, University of Bristol, UK
Algebraic Foundations of Supersymmetric Quantum Field Theory, Prof. Christopher    BEEM, University of Oxford, UK
Solar-to-Chemical Energy Conversion with  Advanced Nitride Semiconductors, Prof. Ian SHARP, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Germany
Smart Forests: Transforming Environments into  Social-Political Technologies, Prof. Jennifer GABRYS, University of Cambridge, UK
The ERC had previously announced, in October 2019, that 8 U.S. principal investigators had been granted Synergy Grants.
More on the 2019 ERC’s Consolidator Grants
The ERC Consolidator Grants are awarded to outstanding researchers of any nationality and age, with at least seven and up to twelve years of experience after PhD, and a scientific track record showing great promise. Research must be conducted in a public or private research organisation locate.
Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “Knowledge developed in these new projects will allow us to understand the challenges we face at a more fundamental level, and may provide us with breakthroughs and innovations that we haven’t even imagined. The EU’s investment in frontier research is an investment in our future, which is why it is so important that we reach an agreement on an ambitious Horizon Europe budget for the next multiannual budget. More available research funding would also allow us to create more opportunities everywhere in the EU – excellence should not be a question of geography.”
ERC President Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, whose mandate ends on 31 December after six years in office, commented: “I have had the immense privilege of seeing thousands of bright minds across our continent receive the trust and backing to go after their most daring ideas. It has been an exhilarating experience through countless meetings with many of them in person, listening to their stories and being inspired by them. As it’s about top frontier research, it comes as no surprise that an overwhelming number of them already made breakthroughs that will continue to contribute greatly to meeting the challenges ahead. As I bid farewell to an organisation that will always remain close to my heart, I am once more highly impressed when I see this latest set of grantees funded by the European Research Council. That the ERC empowers them makes me proud to be European!”
Compliments of the Delegation of the European Union to the United States

The European Securities and Markets Regulator (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, today publishes a study on the market impacts of circuit breakers.
Sudden and drastic price swings in financial markets can be a source of market instability and are a concern for market participants, supervisors and regulators. Circuit breakers are key instruments used by trading venues to regulate markets and interrupt excessive price movements.
Based on Morningstar Real Time data ESMA has created a unique database of circuit breakers triggered between 1 April 2016 and 31 December 2016 on a sample of 10,000 financial instruments traded on EU trading venues, to analyse the impact they have on the market.
The study finds that that price volatility is significantly lower after the use of a circuit breaker. At the same time, bid-ask spreads widen and the price discovery process is not negatively affected. The cross-venue character of ESMA’s database also allows the assessment of coordination of circuit breakers across venues. 
Compliments of the European Commission

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published, today, its 2019 Consumer Trends Report outlining major developments in the insurance and pensions sectors affecting European consumers.
Improvements in disclosure practices have been seen and digitalisation remains a broadly noteworthy trend, showing that financial innovations can bring benefits for both insurers and consumers, so long as they are adequately designed and properly implemented.
Accident and health insurance products continue being ‘good value-for-money’, with the medical expense line of business having the highest claims ratio and the lowest commission rates for non-life insurance products.
Conduct issues related to unit-linked, credit life/credit protection insurance and add-on insurance products have become more prevalent. Claims management in motor insurance, in particular in some markets, also remains an area of concern.
Unit-linked insurance. Concerns continue on the poor levels of consumer understanding, product complexity, unmitigated conflicts of interests, and poor returns – sometimes due to unnecessarily high costs. Issues were identified on the sale of unit-linked policies to vulnerable consumer groups.
Credit life and credit protection products. These are increasingly under the supervisory scrutiny of NCAs and EIOPA. Even though they can bring significant benefits to consumers, potential for consumer detriment exists given generally high commissions that can lead to unmitigated conflicts of interests and some aggressive sales techniques. A data analysis shows that the ratio of acquisition expenses over gross written premiums, an indicator of commission levels, is high for other life insurance, with 151 insurance undertakings above 30% and 50 above 50%.
Add-on insurance. Despite bringing peace of mind to consumers and generally being a low cost product, add-on insurance is also a potential source of consumer detriment across several European markets. Concerns relate to the possible exploitation of behavioural biases in the context of an increase in cross-selling practices and high commissions.
Innovations in the motor insurance. These are broadly noteworthy, with an increase in policies being sold through comparison websites and an increasing uptake of telematics. However motor insurance-related complaints, due to claims management issues, continue to be the most prevalent complaints and have increased by 6% at the EEA level.
For pensions, with life expectancy increasing, a strain is being put on the decumulation phase. To address this issue, changes and innovations – such as lifecycling or delayed retirement – are taking place.
Moreover, effective and clear communication with members is essential for them to be aware of both the product’s characteristics and their pension situation. Given that more members prefer online and more interactive communication, innovations are taking place across several countries. Publicly or privately run pensions dashboards are also appearing, making it easier for consumers to access information on their overall pension situation.
Looking ahead, although regulatory changes that came into force in 2018 (Insurance Distribution Directive and the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation) are already showing some positive developments — mainly in relation to disclosures — it is anticipated that there will be an increasing focus on product oversight and governance, to ensure that products are adequately designed and targeted, thereby ensuring good consumer outcomes.
Gabriel Bernardino, Chairman of EIOPA, said:
‘Understanding consumer trends is an essential part of our work to identify where customers might suffer because of poor practices or lack of information. Despite evidence of improved disclosures, problems remain with product design and product review processes and undertakings and distributors must take responsibility for improving consumer outcomes. At the same time, where EIOPA identifies areas for concern we will take action. This was the case for certain business models in travel insurance, where EIOPA recently issued a warning. In 2020, we will launch a comprehensive thematic review on mortgage life and other credit protection insurance sold through banks, to gather evidence on areas of potential consumer detriment.
View the whole report here
Compliments of the European Commission

December 12 – At today’s meeting the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) decided that 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.
On 1 November net purchases were restarted under the Governing Council’s asset purchase programme (APP) at a monthly pace of €20 billion. The Governing Council expects them 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 President of the ECB will comment on the considerations underlying these decisions at a press conference starting at 14:30 CET today.

On 12 December, EU leaders discussed climate change, the EU’s long-term budget and external relations, among other issues. On 13 December, they focused on the economic and monetary union and Brexit.
Climate change
EU leaders endorsed the objective of making the EU climate-neutral by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement. They underlined that the transition to climate neutrality will bring significant opportunities for economic growth, markets, jobs and technological development. Poland, at this stage, could not commit to implementing this objective, which is why the European Council will come back to this issue in June 2020.
The European Council took note of the Commission communication on the European Green Deal and asked the Council to take work forward.
Leaders recognised the need to put in place an enabling framework to ensure a cost-effective, as well as socially balanced and fair transition to climate neutrality, taking into account different national circumstances.
The European Council underlined that the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) will significantly contribute to climate action. Tailored support for regions and sectors most affected by the transition will be made available from the Just Transition Mechanism.

“All relevant EU legislation and policies need to be consistent with, and contribute to, the fulfilment of the climate neutrality objective while respecting a level playing field.”
European Council conclusions, 12 December 2019

The European Council recognised that all relevant EU policies need to be in line with the climate-neutrality objective and invited the Commission to examine whether existing rules, including on state aid and public procurement, require adjustment. It also asked the Commission to report regularly on the environmental and socio-economic impact of the transition to climate neutrality.
EU leaders acknowledged the need to ensure energy security and to respect the right of the member states to decide on their energy mix and to choose the most appropriate technologies. Some countries have indicated that they use nuclear energy as part of their national energy mix.
Finally, leaders invited the Commission to prepare:
a proposal for the EU’s long-term strategy as early as possible in 2020 with a view to its adoption by the Council and its submission to the UNFCCC
after a thorough impact assessment, a proposal for an update of the EU’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) for 2030 under the Paris Agreement
Climate change: what the EU is doing (background information)
Taking the lead on climate change (multimedia story)
Long-term EU budget
The European Council discussed the main features of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2021-2027. This followed the presentation of the MFF negotiating box with figures by Finland’s presidency.
EU leaders called on the European Council President Charles Michel to take the negotiations forward with the aim of reaching a final agreement.
Multiannual financial framework for 2021-2027: negotiations
Conference on the Future of Europe
The European Council considered the idea of a Conference on the Future of Europe, starting in 2020 and ending in 2022, to involve the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission in their respective roles.
External relations
EU-Africa partnership
EU leaders reaffirmed the importance of the EU-Africa partnership. They stressed the need for a strategic discussion, on Africa relations and on the next EU-African Union summit, at the June 2020 European Council.
EU-Africa relations (background information)
Relations with Russia
Chancellor Merkel and President Macron informed the leaders about the implementation of the Minsk agreements, following the meeting in Normandy format on 9 December 2019 in Paris. EU leaders agreed to roll over the economic sanctions on Russia for another 6 months.
Turkey
EU leaders discussed relations with Turkey, in light of Turkey’s actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean Sea. They reconfirmed previous Council conclusions condemning Turkey’s illegal drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. They also denounced the Turkey-Libya Memorandum of Understanding on the delimitation of maritime jurisdictions and reaffirmed their full solidarity with Greece and Cyprus on this matter.
Turkey’s illegal drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean: Council adopts conclusions, 14 October 2019
Albania
The European Council expressed solidarity with Albania in light of the recent earthquake. EU leaders welcomed the Commission’s announcement to provide humanitarian assistance and to organise a donors’ conference.
Trade
The European Council reiterated its full support for the global rules-based international order and noted with concern the paralysis of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) mechanism for settling disputes.
Leaders supported the European Commission’s efforts to set up interim arrangements with third countries while actively pursuing a permanent solution. In that connection, the European Council called on the European Parliament and the Council to examine the Commission’s proposal to adapt the EU legislation referring to the EU’s rights under international trade agreements.
Economic and monetary union
EU27 leaders took stock of progress made on the implementation of the June 2019 Statement of the Euro Summit, including the:
revision of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Treaty
budgetary instrument for convergence and competitiveness (BICC)
technical work on the strengthening of the banking union
Euro Summit, 13 December 2019
Brexit
EU27 leaders discussed Brexit and preparations for the negotiations on future EU-UK relations after the withdrawal. They reconfirmed their aim of establishing as close as possible future relationship with the UK and welcomed the Commission’s decision to reappoint Michel Barnier.
Special European Council (Art. 50), 13 December 2019
Compliments of the European Commission

Today, the European Commission unveiled a proposal that will allow the European Union to protect its trade interests despite the paralysis of the multilateral dispute settlement system in the World Trade Organization (WTO). To further increase the focus on compliance and enforcement of the EU’s trade agreements, the Commission created today the position of Chief Trade Enforcement Officer.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “A stronger Europe in the world implies efficient EU leadership on global trade and appropriate powers to ensure that international trade rules are respected. For that reason, I start my mandate by taking swift action to strengthen our trade toolbox. Today’s proposals will let us defend our interests in these particularly uneasy times for international trade. As many European jobs are at stake, the EU needs to be equipped to ensure that our partners respect their commitments and that’s what this proposal aims for.”
Commissioner for Trade, Phil Hogan, said: “This is a critical moment for multilateralism and for the global trading system. With the Appellate Body removed from the equation, we have lost an enforceable dispute settlement system that has been an independent guarantor that the WTO’s rules are applied impartially. Whilst we seek to reform the WTO and re-establish a well-functioning WTO system, we cannot afford being defenceless if there is no possibility to get a satisfactory solution within the WTO. The amendments we propose will allow us to defend our companies, workers and consumers, whenever our partners do not play by the rules.”
Today’s proposal to amend the existing Enforcement Regulation comes as a direct reaction to the blockage yesterday of the operations of the WTO Appellate Body. The current regulation – a basis under EU law for adopting trade countermeasures – requires that a dispute go all the way through the WTO procedures, including the appeal stage, before the Union can react. The lack of a functioning WTO Appellate Body allows WTO Members to avoid their obligations andescape a binding ruling by simply appealing a panel report.
The Commission’s proposal will enable the EU to react even if the WTO is not delivering a final ruling at the appellate level because the other WTO member blocks the dispute procedure by appealing into the void.
This new mechanism will also apply to the dispute settlement provisions included in regional or bilateral trade agreements to which the EU is party. The EU must be able to respond resolutely in case trade partners hinder effective dispute settlement resolution, for instance, by blocking the composition of panels.
In line with the Political Guidelines of President von der Leyen, the Commission is further reinforcing the Union’s tools to focus on compliance and enforcement of the EU’s trade agreements and created the post of Chief Trade Enforcement Officer that will be filled in early 2020.
Ensuring the respect of the commitments agreed with other trade partners is a key priority of the von der Leyen Commission. The EU is therefore increasing its focus on enforcing its partners’ commitments in multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements. In so doing the Union will rely on a suite of instruments. The proposal presented today will now be subject to validation by the European Parliament and the EU Member States in the Council in a normal legislative process.
Compliments of the European Commission

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) today adopted an opinion on a recommendation from the Council of the European Union on the appointment of a member of the ECB’s Executive Board.
The Governing Council had no objection to the proposed candidate, Isabel Schnabel, who is a person of recognised standing and professional experience in monetary or banking matters, as required by Article 283(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Ms Schnabel currently serves as a member of the German Council of Economic Experts and is a professor for financial economics at Bonn University.
Following the Governing Council’s opinion and an opinion of the European Parliament, the new member of the Executive Board will be appointed by the European Council. The Governing Council’s opinion, which will be published shortly in the Official Journal of the European Union, will be made available on the ECB’s website in all official EU languages.
Ms Schnabel will serve a non-renewable eight-year term, succeeding Sabine Lautenschläger, who resigned from her position with effect from 31 October 2019.
Compliments of the European Central Bank

The European Commission today presented The European Green Deal – a roadmap for making the EU’s economy sustainable by turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities across all policy areas and making the transition just and inclusive for all.
President Ursula von der Leyen said: ‘The European Green Deal is our new growth strategy – for a growth that gives back more than it takes away. It shows how to transform our way of living and working, of producing and consuming so that we live healthier and make our businesses innovative. We can all be involved in the transition and we can all benefit from the opportunities. We will help our economy to be a global leader by moving first and moving fast. We are determined to succeed for the sake of this planet and life on it – for Europe’s natural heritage, for biodiversity, for our forests and our seas. By showing the rest of the world how to be sustainable and competitive, we can convince other countries to move with us.‘
Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans added ‘We are in a climate and environmental emergency. The European Green Deal is an opportunity to improve the health and well-being of our people by transforming our economic model. Our plan sets out how to cut emissions, restore the health of our natural environment, protect our wildlife, create new economic opportunities, and improve the quality of life of our citizens. We all have an important part to play and every industry and country will be part of this transformation. Moreover, our responsibility is to make sure that this transition is a just transition, and that nobody is left behind as we deliver the European Green Deal.’
The European Green Deal provides a roadmap with actions to boost the efficient use of resources by moving to a clean, circular economy and stop climate change, revert biodiversity loss and cut pollution. It outlines investments needed and financing tools available, and explains how to ensure a just and inclusive transition.
The European Green Deal covers all sectors of the economy, notably transport, energy, agriculture, buildings, and industries such as steel, cement, ICT, textiles and chemicals.
To set into legislation the political ambition of being the world’s first climate neutral continent by 2050, the Commission will present within 100 days the first ‘European Climate Law’. To reach our climate and environmental ambition, the Commission will also present the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the new Industrial Strategy and Circular Economy Action Plan, the Farm to Fork Strategy for sustainable food and proposals for pollution-free Europe. Work will immediately start for upping Europe’s 2030 emissions targets, setting a realistic path to the 2050 goal.
Meeting the objectives of the European Green Deal will require significant investment. Achieving the current 2030 climate and energy targets is estimated to require €260 billion of additional annual investment, representing about 1.5% of 2018 GDP. This investment will need the mobilisation ofthe public and private sectors. The Commission will present in early 2020 a Sustainable Europe Investment Plan to help meet investment needs. At least 25% of the EU’s long-term budget should be dedicated to climate action, and the European Investment Bank, Europe’s climate bank, will provide further support. For the private sector to contribute to financing the green transition, the Commission will present a Green Financing Strategy in 2020.
Fighting climate change and environmental degradation is a common endeavour but not all regions and Member States start from the same point. A Just Transition Mechanism will support those regions that rely heavily on very carbon intensive activities. It will support the citizens most vulnerable to the transition, providing access to reskilling programmes and employment opportunities in new economic sectors.
In March 2020, the Commission will launch a ‘Climate Pact’ to give citizens a voice and role in designing new actions, sharing information, launching grassroots activities and show-casing solutions that others can follow.
The global challenges of climate change and environmental degradation require a global response. The EU will continue to promote its environmental goals and standards in the UN’s Biodiversity and Climate Conventions and reinforce its green diplomacy. The G7, G20, international conventions, and bilateral relationships will be used to persuade others to step up their efforts. The EU will also use trade policy to ensure sustainability and it will build partnerships with its neighbours in the Balkans and Africa to help them with their own transitions.
Next steps
The Commission invites the European Parliament and the European Council to endorse the Commission’s ambition for Europe’s future economy and the environment and to help realise it. The Commission will bring forward the measures announced in the European Green Deal roadmap.
Background
Climate change and environmental degradation present an existential threat to Europe and the world. To overcome this challenge, Europe needs a new growth strategy that transforms the Union into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, where economic growth is decoupled from resource use and where no one and no place is left behind.
The European Union already has a strong track record in reducing its emissions of greenhouse gases while maintaining economic growth. Emissions in 2018 were 23% lower than in 1990 while the Union’s GDP grew by 61% in the same period. But more needs to be done. The EU, given its extensive experience, is leading the way in creating a green and inclusive economy.
The Green Deal Communication sets the path for action in the months and years ahead. The Commission’s future work will be guided by the public’s demand for action and by undeniable scientific evidence as demonstrated most comprehensively by IPCC, IPBES, Global Resources Outlook and EEA SOER 2019 reports. Our proposals will be evidence-based and underpinned by broad consultation.
An overwhelming majority of Europeans consider that protecting the environment is important (95%). Almost 8 in 10 Europeans (77%) say that protection of the environment can boost economic growth. The results of the Eurobarometer survey concerning environmental attitudes of EU citizens confirm the wide public support for environmental legislation at EU level and EU funding for environmentally friendly activities.
Compliments of the European Commission

MEPs will debate the “European Green Deal” to make the EU the first climate-neutral continent, on Wednesday 14:00, in an extraordinary plenary sitting in Brussels.

Following the Commission’s expected announcement of the “European Green Deal” on Wednesday 11 December, the European Parliament will have a first debate on it with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans who will close the debate.
The European Green Deal will focus on the fight against climate change and other environmental objectives in areas such as transport, energy, pollution, agriculture, circular economy and biodiversity.
The Commission’s communication is expected to include a timeline for the upcoming proposals. Parliament has already stressed that the EU should cut emissions by 55% by 2030 to become climate neutral by 2050 and that an ambitious long-term EU budget for 2021-2027 is needed urgently.
Compliments of the European Parliament