On 19 September, the Commission is presenting the new Single Market Emergency Instrument (SMEI). This crisis governance framework aims to preserve the free movement of goods, services and persons and the availability of essential goods and services in the event of future emergencies, to the benefit of citizens and businesses across the EU. While the Single Market has proven to be our best asset in crisis management, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted structural shortcomings hampering the EU’s ability to effectively respond to emergency situations in a coordinated manner. Unilateral measures caused fragmentation, worsening the crisis and affecting particularly SMEs. Continue reading…

The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – ESAs) have on 12 September issued their Autumn 2022 joint risk report. The report highlights that the deteriorating economic outlook, high inflation and rising energy prices have increased vulnerabilities across the financial sectors. The ESAs advise national supervisors, financial institutions and market participants to prepare for challenges ahead. Continue reading…

The Bank for International Settlements’ Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) have on 8 September published the report Client clearing: access and portability, which aims to increase common understanding of new access models that enable clients to directly access CCP services, and of effective porting, or transferring, practices for their positions. The client clearing process facilitates access to CCPs, particularly for firms – known as ‘clients’ – that are not direct participants in a CCP and must rely on intermediaries to indirectly clear their trades. Since some entities cannot, or choose not to, directly participate in a CCP, improving access to client clearing is critical to the success of the G20’s objective to have all standardised over-the-counter derivatives contracts cleared through CCPs. Continue reading…

With the support of Eurojust, authorities in Finland, Germany, Belgium and Latvia have succeeded in striking a blow against the operators of various fraudulent online investment platforms that have defrauded victims from 11 different countries out of several million euros. During an action day, two suspects were arrested and 12 locations were searched. According to the investigation, victims were directed to seemingly reputable online trading platforms in search of offers for lucrative investments. Through these platforms, they were promised enormous profits in a short time by trading in cryptocurrency, foreign exchange or shares. Continue reading…

The European Commission has on 8 September given a positive assessment of the Netherlands’ recovery and resilience plan. This is a key step paving the way for the EU to disburse €4.7 billion in grants to the Netherlands under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). This financing will support the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in the Netherlands’ recovery and resilience plan. It will play a crucial role in enabling the Netherlands to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. The RRF is the key instrument at the heart of NextGenerationEU, which will provide up to €800 billion (in current prices) to support investments and reforms across the EU. The Netherlands’ plan forms part of an unprecedented, coordinated EU response to the COVID-19 crisis, to address common European challenges by embracing the green and digital transitions, to strengthen economic and social resilience and the cohesion of the Single Market. Continue reading…

by Michal Pleticha

The Czech Republic is at a crossroad in deciding how to regulate disinformation. In order to adopt the Strategy to Combat Disinformation (see Part I.), it’s necessary for the Government to draft and push a large number of amendments through both chambers of the Czech Parliament and the Presidential Office. Since disinformation is a sensitive political subject, capable of deepening the current split in politics and society, it could be the beginning of fierce political battle. Continue reading…

by Daniel Vaknine

Although whistleblowing is often represented as huge scandals in the media or on TV, it is often not quite as dramatic in reality. The majority of whistleblower cases are handled internally and concern the incorrect treatment of employees or negative working conditions. However, there have been huge scandals that have occurred at very large corporate companies. Scandals that could have been prevented with the help of whistleblowing. In this post, we therefore take a closer look at 3 occasions that whistleblowing could have made a difference. Continue reading…

Authorities in Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland have dismantled a criminal network involved in a large-scale VAT fraud concerning tobacco smuggling. The estimated damage caused by the tax evasion to the European Union budget amounts to over EUR 8 750 000. In an action supported by Eurojust and Europol, one suspect was arrested. Over EUR 750 000, 7 high-value cars and 49 very high-value wristwatches were seized. Continue reading…

by Michal Pleticha

A threatening phenomenon appeared in Czech society: another desperate family discovers that one of its members became a different person. Someone who literally detached himself from reality and became an angry and hostile person with an aggressive attitude to common topics of conversation. It is likely that such a person succumbed to the phenomenon of “disinformation”, which changed his perception of reality and his personality. He is obsessed with the delusion of the “hidden truth” which comes up on the surface only thanks to the uncensored free media (meaning specialised websites, social media groups and citizen journalists. Well-established and quality public media are allegedly censored and spread only lies and manipulation. Continue reading…