Latest news from EU institutions and bodies

Overview of the main subjects to be discussed at meetings of the Council of the EU over the next two weeks and upcoming media events.

The European Investment Bank Vice-President, Mr. Thomas Östros, and the Deputy Ambassador of the European Union to Tanzania, Mr. Emilio Rossetti, have today signed a statement of intent to blend a grant of 15 million EUR (43 billion TZS) from the European Union with 350 million EUR (1 trillion TZS) loans from the European Investment Bank to provide credit to Tanzanian banks. This financing will go towards supporting Small and Medium-Sized enterprises (SMEs) in Tanzania, under the EU Global Gateway strategy.

Coordinated efforts from Romanian and French authorities, with support from Eurojust and Europol, have led to the dismantling of a human trafficking network. The organised crime group (OCG) trafficked Romanian women into France for sexual exploitation. During a recent action day, eight suspects were identified and multiple victims and witnesses were heard. The victims have been offered support.

ESMA puts forward measures to support corporate sustainability reporting 05 July 2024 Sustainable finance The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has today published a Final Report on the Guidelines on Enforcement of Sustainability Information (GLESI) and a Public Statement on the first application of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). These documents will support the consistent application and supervision of sustainability reporting requirements. The purpose of the GLESI is to provide guidance to build convergence on supervisory practices on sustainability reporting. See explainer video here. Through the Public Statement on the first-time application of the ESRS, ESMA intends to support large issuers in going through the learning curve associated with the implementation of these new reporting requirements. See visuals here.  The guidelines and statement published today are in line with recommendations proposed in the recently published ESMA Position Paper “Building more effective and attractive capital markets in the EU” namely:   promoting EU capital markets as a hub for green finance – this should include efforts to clarify the disclosure of sustainability information to aid comprehension by investors, also through the use of sustainability labels/categories as necessary; reducing complexity and enhancing clarity for the industry can also serve to ease compliance burdens; and  improving supervisory consistency amongst EU National Authorities – fostering harmonised enforcement outcomes through enhanced cooperation and convergence  Next steps   ESMA will continue to monitor the sustainability reporting practices in 2025 as well as the application of the GLESI. ESMA will translate the  GLESI in all EU languages and make these translations available on its website.  In addition, ESMA will release in Q4 recommendations in relation to the sustainability statements of listed companies in its Public Statement on the 2024 European Common Enforcement Priorities.         Further information: Dan Nacu-Manole Communications Officerpress@esma.europa.eu   05/07/2024 ESMA32-992851010-1600 Final Report on Guidelines on Enforcement of Sustainability Information (GLESI) 05/07/2024 ESMA32-992851010-1597 European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) Statement

European Commission Daily news Brussels, 05 Jul 2024 Commission requests information to Amazon under the Digital Services Act Today, the Commission has sent Amazon a request for information (RFI) under the Digita...

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide advisory services to Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company (EYDAP) in Greece to support the company’s €2 billion, 10-year investment programme to ensure the Greek capital has a more resilient water supply.