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On 18 April 2023, the European Commission tabled a package of proposals to amend the bank crisis management and deposit insurance (CMDI) framework. The objective of the reform is to calibrate the latter so as to further deepen harmonisation and reduce the use of taxpayer funding. More specifically, the proposal for a CMDI reform would amend the early intervention procedure and the decision to resolve a failing bank in the public interest. It would also encourage the use of funding from national deposit ...

This briefing will give a brief overview of the EU-Russia sanctions framework, before discussing existing EU tools for protecting its financial interests, access to beneficial ownership data and EU initiatives to ensure sanctions enforcement. It serves as background information for the CONT Committee workshop of 6 November 2023 on ‘Preventing EU funds from reaching sanctioned individuals or entities’.

On 24 May 2023, the European Commission put forward a package of two proposals to amend existing directives and a regulation with a view to fostering retail investor information transparency and ensuring that investment decisions are best for investors. The objective is to enhance trust and confidence, thereby increasing retail investor participation in financing the economy. The package is mostly concerned with clarity in communication and the prevention of misleading marketing. It also seeks to ...

In May 2023, the European Parliament decided to postpone its decision on granting discharge to the European Council and the Council for the 2021 budget owing to a number of critical observations. Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control has re-examined the situation but, given the Council's lack of willingness to cooperate on the discharge procedure, cannot take an informed decision. It therefore recommends in this second and final report, not to grant discharge to the two institutions. The vote ...

During the October II plenary session, Parliament is expected to decide its position on amendments to the Council's position on the draft EU budget for 2024. The Committee on Budgets (BUDG) has aligned its reading of the 2024 budget with its call for a revision of the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework (MFF). BUDG reverses all the Council's proposed reductions to the Commission's draft and proposes a considerable increase in commitments in the 2024 budget for Parliament's priorities: addressing ...

The Member States have drawn up their individual national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs, or 'recovery plans') to benefit from the Next Generation EU (NGEU) recovery instrument and its main spending tool, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), and to emerge stronger from the COVID 19 crisis. To receive RRF funding, Member States must address at least a significant subset of the country-specific recommendations (CSRs) and foster the green and digital transitions, by achieving the milestones ...

The original full study reviews transparency rules, guidance, systems and practices in EU NGO grant funding, and to what extent these ensure public transparency. The study also provides an overview of NGO management and decision-making culture, and good practice approaches to NGO regulation. The study makes recommendations to improve public transparency and NGO regulation at EU level, and at the same time improve dialogue between EU institutions and NGOs.

On 20 June 2023, the Commission made a proposal for a revision of the EU's long-term budget, to urgently address shortcomings and provide further financial support to Ukraine. Overall, the Committee on Budgets (BUDG) supports the revision in its interim report, pending the formal request from the Council, which has yet to agree its position, for consent to the revision. But BUDG says that an additional €10 billion, on top of the €65.8 billion proposed by the Commission, is needed to address the challenges ...

This study has been prepared for the Committee on Budgetary Control. It assesses recent developments in the transparency and accountability of EU NGO funding. The Commission has transitioned all programmes to a single, centralised grant management system that can potentially enhance the public transparency of grant funding significantly. Nevertheless, overall public transparency remains limited. The study recommends a more comprehensive, systematic approach to public transparency involving the Parliament ...

To support climate and environmental projects, the European Commission proposed a regulation on a European green bond standard in July 2021. This would establish an official EU standard for green bonds aligned with the EU taxonomy, based on a registration system and supervisory framework for external reviewers. A provisional political agreement reached between the Parliament and Council is scheduled for a vote during the October I plenary session.