kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
but how many more billions could be saved by scrapping the attempt to micromanage the markets completely?
and what will the regulators do once the data tells them that the otc horse has bolted?
all that will be achieved is to discover that a white elephant preceded the horse.
italian banks have been falling over themselves to bundle up packages of their non performing loans wrap them up as cdos and sell them to other banks at a pace almost twice that seen last year.
certainly not those who lost their homes.
and if proof were needed that the eu has not learnt the lesson of the euro crisis and wants to let sleeping dogs lie look no further than the italian banks dramatically increasing their use of securitisation the same financial engineering as in the american sub prime bubble.
close the stable door?
italy's debt still stands at one hundred and thirty two of gdp and over one hundred and fifty of gdp if you include target two liabilities.
this is simply making the debt contagious all over again a wolf in sheep's clothing.
this will be one of the key priorities for my group as we move towards our negotiations with the council.
for example an exemption for certain small financial counterparties from the clearing obligation and it will now be possible for the commission to suspend the clearing obligation in cases of instability in the markets.
we must ensure that the pension funds are able to continue to make use of the exemption in the period between august of this year and the entry into force of the emir refit regulation.
finally i am glad that the rapporteur has included a proposal to bridge the limbo period for pension funds.
through the emir refit we have been able to identify areas which can be further streamlined in the regulation.
furthermore it is made clear in the ep report that data quality is more important than quantity.
in particular it is right that we are streamlining the reporting requirements by moving toward single sided reporting.
this measure stands to improve financial stability that is bringing in pension funds and the safety of pensions while giving all stakeholders enough time to prepare.
so i am confident that it is absolutely possible to implement the necessary steps especially for bigger pension funds within the timeframes that we have put forward.
however perhaps most notable in this report and it has been mentioned by previous speakers are the credible arrangements to bring pension funds into the scope of the clearing obligation somewhat sooner than was envisaged against the backdrop of a number of extensions that have already taken place.
it emphasises the need for cost reduction and a simplification.
the estimated cost reductions are up to eur.
but these amendments need to uphold the fundamental objectives of
and it simplifies reporting requirements in particular for businesses without compromising the quality of data. companies market participants regulators and supervisors all agree on the need for this proposal and largely support it. i am very pleased that the debate and the vote takes place now as the adoption of the proposal is urgent.
we need a bit of time to put this commitment into practice but let me be clear we are not giving a carte blanche.
it incentivises clearing and improves access to it;
i was glad to see that industry stakeholders all committed to design and implement a solution.
progress during this extended exemption period must be monitored and the commission will set up a monitoring group for this purpose. finally let me highlight again that the purpose of this proposal is to introduce some targeted amendments to simplify and to make emir requirements more proportionate.
it introduces a new mechanism to suspend clearing in exceptional circumstances;
six nine billion in fixed or one off costs and up to eur. two six billion in annual operational costs.
the need to revise some of emir's requirements became evident from the responses we got to the commission's general call for evidence on financial services legislation in. two thousand and sixteen our proposal is technical but important. its savings potential is big.
this review proposal bends over backwards in my view to meet the demands of the industry an industry let's not forget that just a decade ago brought our economies and societies to the brink of collapse.
the weakening of regulations may be targeted at the smaller market participants but the nature of this market is that it is a chain of interdependencies that promotes risk volatility.
emir the post crisis framework for the regulation of over the counter derivatives has its problems certainly but it is a crucial instrument for ensuring financial stability.
i share the concerns that this move reflects a more general effort by this house to roll back and unpick the financial regulations put in place after the crisis.
we have a responsibility as legislators to ensure that the derivatives industry is bound by strict and high standard regulations on transparency reporting and clearing and this parliament i fear is failing to meet that responsibility with the report in front of us.
in particular the rapporteur's proposal to extend the intra group exemption to a global basis and to introduce full single sided reporting for non financial corporations is welcomed.
this will significantly reduce costs for most small companies which can then be reinvested in the real economy.
when the commission published their proposal last may the idea was to eliminate disproportionate costs and burdens on small companies and to simplify rules without compromising financial stability.
by applying singlesided reporting as opposed to the current dual sided regime it would bring europe in line with other jurisdictions and make the eu more attractive destination for corporate treasury functions which is an important aspect. parliament's position reduces the proposed three plustwoyear exemption for pension funds to comply with the clearing obligations to twoplusoneyear exemption with very small pension funds exempted. i understand the compromises that were reached on behalf of my colleague and his colleagues in econ but at the end of the day we do need to be careful about this.
whether european pension funds will be able to comply with the requirements over a very short period of time is a serious issue.
i was the rapporteur for the iorp ii directive;
i am aware that pension funds are fundamentally different to other financial entities when it comes to clearing as they have a longterm investment profile and low liquidity needs.
we really need to be sure that pension funds will be able to manage a new clearing obligation in such a short space of time especially given the difficult position that many pension funds find themselves in right now with the low interest rate environment and the difficulty of making returns for existing members and beneficiaries.
we have to find a solution to this;
i like the idea of a round table.
the exemption cannot continue forever but we need to be cautious in how we respond to the pension issue.
having said that now let me turn to greece.
the esm in my mind should be in the lead in designing negotiating and monitoring future programmes.
the authorities in the institutions have agreed on the size the sequencing and the timing of reform measures underpinning a growth friendly rebalancing of the economy.
the report is being drawn up by an evaluation commission led by gertrude tumpel gugerell and will be published in june and i can imagine we will devote one of our future hearings to this report.
they returned last tuesday and i am confident that an agreement on the whole package will be reached very soon.
income tax reform is planned to become effective in two thousand and twenty in principle unless front loading is needed.
it was of course never my intention to insult people.
beyond this recent discussions also concerned labour market reforms that balance the need for a flexible economy with the vital respect for workers' social rights in line with european best practices.
one way to move forward in strengthening the emu is to develop the esm further into a european monetary fund.
as parliament stated in its recent resolution on the budgetary capacity we can only successfully strengthen the monetary union if responsibility and solidarity are closely linked.
we also agreed that the authorities can now legislate expansionary measures to implement as of two thousand and nineteen provided of course that the mediumterm targets are met.
i hope to be able to report to you the successful conclusion of the second review before the end of next month allowing confidence to return to the greek economy and for greece to join all other eurozone countries in their ongoing process of economic recovery.
these steps proved to be instrumental in bolstering confidence and have resulted in a return of deposits a reduced dependency on ela and in a much better than expected fiscal performance overall in. two thousand and sixteen eurostat came out last monday with a primary surplus figure of.
meanwhile the second review is admittedly taking too much time.
as i indicated in writing to you mr president domestic political obligations prevented me from accepting your previous invitation.
on the second review of the greek adjustment programme.
this is very unfortunate as it was not what i said and certainly not what i had intended to say.
the crisis years have impacted societies throughout the eurozone and throughout the union at great social expense and solidarity has been justified.
in this interview i made the point that respecting our agreed framework is crucial for maintaining confidence and solidarity in the eurozone. in the days following the interview however my words were linked to the situation during the crisis periods in certain southern european countries.
i regret not having been able to join you a few weeks ago;
a lot has been accomplished in the first part of the current programme such as reform in the financial sector the setting up of an independent authority of public revenues implementation of the first leg of an ambitious income tax and pension reform and the creation of a privatisation agency etc.
on my initiative the efsf and esm programmes are being evaluated at this moment.
in terms of the next steps i expect that all of this will allow all institutions to come to the conclusion that the numbers add up and the imf to financially participate.
i strongly believe in that and i will continue to work for that.
apart from possible tax measures it provides for improvements to the modernised social safety net that greece is rightly developing.
one important lesson is that we should keep and improve on the expertise that has been acquired over the crisis period and to anchor it at the esm.
the eurogroup will then also review greece's mediumterm fiscal trajectory and debt sustainability and let me just say that i believe that the ten year period of a primary surplus target of.
in short the authorities committed to legislating up front further pension and income tax reforms each worth about one of gdp. pension reforms will become effective in two thousand and nineteen unconditionally.
i have worked for the past four years to bring the eurozone closer together and the last thing i want is to cause new divides.
this approach has allowed the institutions to resume their mission in athens.
in my view the commission should continue in its role as keeper of the pact.
also the esm could in the future have a broader preventive mandate in line with how the imf does it now by developing its own country reports to assure objective macroeconomic analysis.
therefore at my initiative in february and following intensified high level talks in march between the institutions and the greek government an overarching agreement was reached earlier this month.
on this basis we expect and urge the next eurogroup to conclude the second review and to address the necessary debt relief issues.
let us honour our duty and obligation of unity and solidarity and restore credibility and hope in the european project.
we need a mediumterm fiscal path which is economically realistic and credible and a package of medium term debt relief measures that is consistent with such a revised path.
let us not waste this opportunity;
this overall political agreement is urgent and essential not only for allowing greece to honour its financial commitment in good time but is necessary to keep up the positive momentum of the economy and to allow greece to return to bond markets and to be included in the ecb qe programme which will be a powerful driver towards stability confidence and growth.
europe deserves this.
the agreement reached at the last eurogroup on the fiscal structural measures and the contingent expansionary package has been difficult but now it gives us the concrete hope that this toplevel agreement can be reached quickly possibly in a few days.
three five surplus target is unrealistic for a longer period that is one of the reasons that the imf has consistently argued that without debt relief the greek economy will be in the woods for many years even decades to come.
moreover i find the contingency measures on the table disturbing and dangerous.
so let's be honest;
what greece needs is debt relief in combination with reforms and investments.
these forces exploit the concerns that ordinary citizens have regarding economic policies that harm them and so they resort to scapegoating others.
but let me remind you what the european treaties say article three of the treaty on the european union says that the eu shall work for a social market economy and social progress and promote social justice and solidarity among states.
it is time to acknowledge that and it is time to give greece some time to breathe and to actually do the long term reforms that we really need and that are really necessary.
we cannot be tough when it comes to cuts for poorer people and be lenient when it comes to the tax avoidance of big companies. frankly i think the europeans deserve a change of that policy.
it is delivering all those things;
this is unacceptable and i don't understand how you cannot even see that there is a problem.
it does its homework' as you like to call it despite the most horrific social cuts.
very nice but you still don't understand that with your statement you have insulted half of the european union population all the women in this house all the women everywhere in the european union because you say that women are an object that you either buy or spend money on.
these measures will continue to suffocate the recovery in greece and will also increase social disruption but nevertheless the greek government is actually doing what you wanted it to do.
the underlying debate still remains valid that to build a community requires everyone to take responsibility respecting agreements and frameworks and on that basis moving forward together and strengthening solidarity in the union and in the eurozone.
that is the legacy that i would like to leave.
that is what i have worked for and i think looking back on the last four and a half years the eurozone is in a much better state than when i came to the job as we are moving out of the crisis and many member states are back into strong growth.
it was not my intention.
i believe that all of us should take that responsibility.
i am not excluding them from being part of future programmes and i certainly hope we won't need any future programmes but i feel that the esm can play a leading role and that it should develop in that direction.
that does not mean that i wish to take away responsibilities from the commission.
i made my remark about the commission to underline that i feel that the commission should stay in the lead as the guardian of the pact and the rules that we share.
it needs to be done in may.
we have put in a lot of effort.
the situation in greece is not good enough;
growth is falling back again where we need trust and growth to continue.
i believe that already in the package we are discussing now the emphasis is not on austerity;
it is about deep reforms that are necessary to create more growth and any fiscal outcome of that can be reinvested in greece and used for the positive policy initiatives so badly needed in greece.
finally yes we will discuss debt and debt relief will be needed to find that solution.
last year we already gave that commitment to come back to the issue of sustainability of debt for greece because that is the only way that they will come back onto a sustainable path and a sustainable economic future.
instead of just admitting that the euro does not work and the engine is broken he rains down abuse on the unfortunate people of southern europe in an impotent display of ill temper.
we are nearly a decade on from the start of the crisis and yet we are still talking about keeping greece locked in a currency union with germany.
the engine is faulty the vehicle does not drive and all the state of denial is achieving is more human misery more poverty more unemployment more damage to the social fabric and more deflation without end.
against the backdrop of the international financial crisis the commission proposes further reinforced solidarity with the member states that do not yet benefit from the protective umbrella of the euro. the facility for supporting member states' balances of payments is by definition foreseen for exceptional circumstances and was only used on a few occasions in the past.
the european council of nineteen and twenty march therefore welcomed the announcement by president barroso that the commission intended to make a proposal for increasing the ceiling of the community's balance of payments support to eur fifty billion.
we do however live in exceptional times. as you know the commission proposed last year an increase in the ceiling of outstanding loans that the community can provide to support member states' balances of payments.
the extension of the total possible credit line to eur fifty billion will provide a large buffer to cater for further possible needs for financial support.
the european union will thus be well equipped to react rapidly should the need for further balance of payments support arise.
by reducing the incentive for capital withdrawal it would decrease the probability of balance of payments problems in the concerned countries.
mr president under the leadership of my compatriot rob wainwright europol has developed into a crucial hub for intelligence sharing and for operational support between national forces.
with this new agreement it will be able to increase its capabilities in the coming months and enable europol to continue to play a crucial role in the fight against terrorism and organised crime.
the europol internet referral unit has been operational for almost a year helping to take down jihadist recruitment propaganda on the internet and on social media.
by dismantling national frontiers and focusing only on an external one we have incentivised and thereby greatly exacerbated the net influx of illicit migrants into the eu.
but we should be very clear that this is the elevation of the dogma of closer amalgamation over any practical consequences in the same way that the euro is now about preserving closer integration despite the immiseration being inflicted on tens of millions of people who have to use the euro.
of course if your starting point is that the eu should be a single country and should therefore just have a single border and not have what are called internal frontiers that may be a price worth paying.
we can reorient back to the rest of the world the bits of the world that are still growing.
membership of the eu does not really convey any benefits that we could not access from outside it.
air chief marshal michael graydon said our intelligence relationships are with individual member countries not europe so it is irrelevant whether we are in or out. if we want to work together internationally of course we will keep working with we will keep sharing information with other countries but we do not need to be part of a european union to do that.
we can work together perfectly well and ensure our national security in fact better rather than worse and therefore i voted against.
of course it does not and for a long time states in europe have cooperated internationally.
we have interpol we have the hague convention we have extradition treaties and we recognise time spent in another country's prison. all of these are instruments that apply globally.
that is not what this debate about. it is not what europol is about.
europol as the authors frankly admitted when it was first put forward after tampere is about creating a federal police force their words not mine. it is about creating a kind of european fbi and that is the choice for us. it is between association and absorption.
it is between alliance and assimilation.
mr president we just had council elections in the uk. labour and conservative councils have been squealing saying we don't have the money for libraries museums theatres road safety measures' and yet these same political parties support the spending of millions upon millions of pounds of uk tax payers' money on closer eu governance and cohesion.
this is a disgrace.
these people squeal like babies at home that there's no money and yet send their money for redistribution across europe.
i stand against eu governance.
i voted against this measure for more cohesion spending and i will always god willing stand against the eu spending uk taxpayers' money in this way.
this process must be repeated when important changes occur.
the guiding principles are as follows first the airline is responsible for the safety of its operations.
before operating in airspace contaminated by volcanic ash the airline must produce a safety risk assessment and have it accepted by its supervising authority.
in dealing with disruptive events such as this a key element is collaborative decision making between member states and industry. to ensure comprehensive and coordinated actions the commission together with eurocontrol established a european aviation crisis coordination cell following the council of transport ministers meeting of four may.
passengers require up to date information but they need to be able to reach the airlines in order to exercise their rights.
it is not enough to inform european union citizens of their passenger rights;
while i appreciate that at the time of the ash crisis airlines were under unprecedented pressure to deal with thousands of passengers and i must admit that some did admirably in general it is very difficult for people to get information and assistance when it is needed.
the biggest frustration that passengers face in situations like this is trying to get information trying to get in contact with the airlines.
however in reality the majority of passengers whose travel has been disrupted will spend a lot of time and money chasing down information seeking alternative tickets or compensation with airlines.
under eu legislation passengers have a right to information and assistance from their airline.
over ten million people were affected and the cancellations resulted in significant economic costs for thousands of passengers.
airlines airport customer services and information need to be more accessible to passengers whose travel has been disrupted.
of course that is a small price to pay;
i welcome the recent initiatives by commissioner kallas to implement the single european sky and to establish functional air space.
therefore in order to avoid this we must have much greater cooperation and much more cognisance of best practice so that we have a plan in place to prevent future disruptions and such a horrendous impact on the economy.
i have been dealing over the last number of months indeed even this week with residual cases from individual constituents who have been affected by this particular crisis.
at the time of the volcanic ash crisis the costs were estimated to be in excess of gbp two hundred million a day in uk flights alone.
certainly when you come from where i come from where it is impossible to get to your work unless you use the aeroplane then that really brings it home to you.