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Parliament wants to better protect consumers from unsafe products | News | European Parliament

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Parliament wants to better protect consumers from unsafe products  | News | European Parliament

, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20201120IPR92127/

EU: Poland, Hungary should ask EU top court on rule of law

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EU: Poland, Hungary should ask EU top court on rule of law

… of doing.
Speaking at the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen said … which are now threatening the EU budget and only that,” she … of millions and millions of EU citizens who are urgently … Viktor Orban suggested that the EU should delay the discussion about …

Parliament wants to grant EU consumers a “right to repair” | News | European Parliament

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Parliament wants to grant EU consumers a “right to repair”  | News | European Parliament

, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20201120IPR92118/

Orange the World: NO to violence against women | News | European Parliament

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Orange the World: NO to violence against women | News | European Parliament

, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20201119STO92007/

ESMA Newsletter – Nº18

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ESMA Newsletter – Nº18
25 November

ESMA sets out its final view on the derivatives trading obligation (DTO) The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has released a public statementthat clarifies the application of the European Union’s (EU) trading obligation for derivatives (DTO) following the end of the UK’s transition from the EU on 31 December 2020. 23 November

ESAs propose to adapt the EMIR implementation timelines for intragroup transactions, equity options and novations to EU counterparties The European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), have published a final report with draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) proposing to amend the Commission Delegated Regulation on the risk mitigation techniques for OTC derivatives not cleared by a CCP (bilateral margin requirements) under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). 20 November

ESMA CONSULTS ON SUPERVISORY FEES FOR DATA REPORTING SERVICES PROVIDERS​ The European Securities and Markets Authority, the EU’s securities markets regulator, launches a public consultation on supervisory fees for data reporting services providers (DRSPs) to be supervised by ESMA starting in 2022. 20 November

ESMA CONSULTS ON DEROGATION CRITERIA FOR DATA REPORTING SERVICES PROVIDERS The European Securities and Markets Authority, the EU’s securities markets regulator,  launches a public consultation on criteria to identify Authorised Reporting Mechanisms (ARMs) and Approved Publications Arrangements (APAs) subject to authorisation and supervision by a competent authority of a EU Member States from January 2022. 18 November

ESMA publishes first overview of the size and structure of EU securities markets The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, published its first statistical report on European Union (EU) securities markets. The Report uses new regulatory data sources to give, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of European equity and bond markets in 2019, including the number, characteristics, volumes traded and transparency data on the equity and bond instruments subject to MiFID II.
A webinar open to the public will be held on 25 November to present the report. 16 November

EU derivative clearing showed strong growth in 2019 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, publishes its third Annual Statistical Report(Report) analysing the European Union’s (EU) derivatives markets. It provides a comprehensive market-level view of the EU’s derivatives markets in 2019, which had a total size of €681tn gross notional amount outstanding, a decrease of 5% on 2018. The Report is based on data submitted under the European Markets and Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). 13 November 

ESMA identifies costs and performance and data quality as new Union Strategic Supervisory Priorities The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, using its new convergence powers, has identified costs and performance for retail investment products and market data quality as the Union Strategic Supervisory Priorities for national competent authorities (NCAs). 13 November

ESMA tells fund managers to improve readiness for future adverse shocks The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has published a Report on the preparedness of investment funds with significant exposures to corporate debt and real estate assets, for potential future adverse liquidity and valuation shocks. The Report identifies five priority areas for action which would enhance the preparedness of these fund categories. 12 November

ESMA publishes first report on use of sanctions under the AIFMD The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU securities markets regulator, publishes its first annual reporton the use by National Competent Authorities (NCAs) of sanctions under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). 12 November

ESMA publishes third annual report on use of sanctions for UCITS The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, publishes its 2019 reporton the use of supervisory sanctions by National Competent Authorities (NCAs) under the Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferrable Securities (UCITS) Directive 11 November

ESMA sees potential for sudden reversal in investors’ risk assessment The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU securities markets regulator, publishes its second risk dashboard for 2020 which sees a continued risk of decoupling between asset valuations and economic fundamentals. 11 November

ESMA publishes translations for Guidelines on securitisation repository data completeness and consistency thresholds The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued the official translations of its guidelines on securitisation repository data completeness and consistency thresholds. 10 November

ESMA releases Report on post trade risk reduction services The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has released a Report on Post Trade Risk Reduction services(PTRR) under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). The Report analyses whether any trades that directly result from PTTR services should be exempted from the clearing obligation. 10 November

ESMA updates Brexit statements for the end of UK transition period The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has updated three statements which address the impact on reporting under EMIR and SFTR and on the operation of ESMA databases and IT systems after 31 December 2020, the end of the UK’s transition from the EU. 09 November

ESMA consults on guidance for funds’ marketing communications The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, launches a consultationon guidelines on marketing communications under the Regulation on facilitating cross-border distribution of collective investment undertakings. 09 November

ESMA ISSUES LATEST DOUBLE VOLUME CAP DATA The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities and markets regulator, has updated  its public register with the latest set of double volume cap (DVC) data under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II). 09 November

ESMA updates Q&As for prospectus and transparency rules linked to Brexit The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has issued Questions and Answers (Q&As) concerning the Prospectus Regulation(PR) and the Transparency Directive(TD) in the context of the Brexit transition period. ESMA has also updated prospectus Q&As as part of an ongoing Q&A revision exercise. 06 November 

ESMA seeks experts in corporate finance to join its industry advisory group The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has published an open call for candidatesfor industry experts in corporate finance. 06 November

ESMA CONSULTS ON MIFID II/ MIFIR OBLIGATIONS ON MARKET DATA The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has launched a Consultation Paper (CP) seeking input from market participants in relation to its draft guidelines on the MiFID II/MiFIR obligations on market data. 06 November

Verena Ross speaks about CRA Regulation at ECMI Annual Conference Today, ESMA Executive Director, Verena Ross, has delivered a speech on the CRA Regulation, and related issues, at ECMI’s 2020 Annual Conference which was held online on 5 and 6 November. 06 November

ESMA publishes new Q&A on product governance The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has updated its Questions and Answerson the implementation of investor protection topics under the Market in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation (MiFID II/ MiFIR). 06 November

ESMA updates Q&A on Benchmarks Regulation The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has updated its Questions and Answers on the European Benchmarks Regulation (BMR). 05 November

ESMA publishes translations for Guidelines on performance fees in UCITS and certain types of AIFs The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued the official translations of its guidelines on performance fees in UCITS and certain types of AIFs. 05 November

ESMA publishes first Q&As on SFTR Reporting The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has published its first set of Questions and Answers relating to reporting under  the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR). 05 November

ESMA specifies obligations on environmentally sustainable activities The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has published its Consultation Paper containing ESMA’s draft advice to the European Commission on Article 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation. This specifies the content, methodology and presentation of the key performance indicators (KPIs) that non-financial undertakings and asset managers are required to disclose.

A child infected with HIV every 100 seconds, new UN report reveals

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A child infected with HIV every 100 seconds, new UN report reveals

Prevention efforts and treatment for children remain some of the lowest amongst key affected populations, and in 2019, a little less than half of children worldwide did not have access to life-saving treatment, UNICEF said in a new report on Wednesday. 

Nearly 320,000 children and adolescents were newly infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and 110,000 children died of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) last year. 

“Children are still getting infected at alarming rates, and they are still dying from AIDS. This was even before COVID-19 interrupted vital HIV treatment and prevention services putting countless more lives at risk”, said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. 

Life-saving HIV services hit by COVID-19  

According to UNICEF, the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened inequalities in access to life-saving HIV) services for children, adolescents and pregnant mothers everywhere, and there are serious concerns that one-third of high HIV burden countries could face coronavirus-related disruptions. 

“Even as the world struggles in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic, hundreds of thousands of children continue to suffer the ravages of the HIV epidemic”, said Ms. Fore.  

Data from the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), cited in the report, shows the impact of control measures, supply chain disruptions, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the redeployment of healthcare workers on HIV services. 

Challenges remain 

Paediatric HIV treatment and viral load testing in children in some countries fell by 50 to 70 per cent, and new treatment initiation by 25 to 50 per cent in April and May, coinciding with partial and full lockdowns to control the novel coronavirus. 

Health facility deliveries and maternal treatment were also reported to have reduced by 20 to 60 per cent, maternal HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation by 25 to 50 per cent, and infant testing services by approximately 10 per cent. 

Though the easing of control measures and the strategic targeting of children and pregnant mothers have successfully led to a rebound of services in recent months, challenges remain, and the world is still far from achieving the global 2020 paediatric HIV targets, said UNICEF. 

Regional disparities 

Despite some progress in the decades-long fight against HIV and AIDS, deep regional disparities persist among all populations, especially for children. 

While the Middle East and North Africa region recorded 81 per cent paediatric ART coverage, only 46 per cent and 32 per cent were covered in Latin America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, respectively. 

The South Asia region recorded 76 per cent coverage, Eastern and Southern Africa 58 per cent, and East Asia and the Pacific 50 per cent. 

European Union is willing to be ‘creative’ to get a Brexit trade deal

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European Union is willing to be 'creative' to get a Brexit trade deal

BRUSSELS: The European Union on Wednesday committed to be “creative” in the final stages of the Brexit trade negotiations but warned that whatever deal emerges, the United Kingdom will be reduced to “just a valued partner” far removed from its former membership status.

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said “genuine progress” had been made on several issues “with an outline of a final text”, little more than a month before Britain’s transition period as a former EU member runs out.

And she said that on the divisive issues of fisheries, governance of any deal and the standards the UK must meet to export into the EU, the bloc is “ready to be creative, but we are not ready to put into question the integrity of the single market, the main safeguard for European prosperity and wealth”.

In the EU single market, goods and services can freely flow from one of the 27 member states to another without barriers like customs or checks, and it is seen as a cornerstone of the EU. With Britain deciding to walk out, von der Leyen insisted it should feel the cold.

“One thing is clear. Whatever the outcome, there has to be and there will be a clear difference between being a full member of the union and being just a valued partner,” she told legislators at the European Parliament.

Eritrean Bishops call for peace in Ethiopia’s Tigray region – Vatican News

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Eritrean Bishops call for peace in Ethiopia’s Tigray region - Vatican News

By Fr. Benedict Mayaki, SJ

The Bishops of Eritrea have expressed their deep sadness over the conflict between Ethiopia’s federal government and the regional government of Tigray state. They are appealing for peace and a cessation of the destructive hostilities.

Eritrea is Ethiopia’s northern neighbour bordering the Tigray region. The countries have a long and troubled history of conflict with war breaking out between the nations in 1998 over a complex territorial, economic and political dispute that left tens of thousands of people dead. Despite the Algiers peace agreement in December 2000 ending the border conflict, Ethiopia and Eritrea remained in a state of armed standoff for nearly 18 years.

Meanwhile observers report an escalating regional tension as Tigray Peoples Liberation Front leaders in recent months have increasingly accused Eritrea of meddling in Ethiopia’s domestic affairs.  

What’s more, there are currently four refugee camps in northern Ethiopia sheltering nearly 100,000 Eritrean refugees. Humanitarian agencies, who have asked for the opening of humanitarian corridors, are expressing fears the refugees may be facing threats of violence, harassment and food shortages amid conflict in the Tigray region

No winner in war

War, the Eritrean Bishops said in a recent statement, “is anti-life and anti-development…it kills, maims, destroys, displaces and sows lasting grievances and hatred among people,” and they added, it also destroys the four pillars of peace: truth, justice, love and freedom/liberty.

Once a war starts, continued the Bishops, “no one knows when and where it ends,” they said, noting that “all the parties are losers and there is no winner.” This, according to the Bishops, is why Pope Saint John Paul II said: “war does not have any meaningful value, and is always unjust.”

The Bishops further pointed out that the consequences of war are a “self-evident truth to the world” – especially to the peoples in the Horn of Africa where, nonetheless, conflicts sadly persist unabated. 

Pillars of peace

Outlining the pillars of peace as truth, justice, love and freedom, the Bishops stressed their importance to the situation.

Truth, they pointed out, assures individual rights, safeguards the common good and protects the rights of others; Justice for its part, “guarantees the rights of others, incentivizing progress to build peace.” 

At the same time, Love instills empathy for the needs of others and creates reciprocity to build peace through “intellectual and spiritual participation in dignity.” Freedom allows people to assume their obligation in contributing to the development of peace.

Peace and truth connected

To achieve Peace, there must be respect for human dignity and human rights, the Eritrean Bishops affirmed. 

In this regard, peace and truth become connected through the transmission of true and correct information, a transparent democratic process that guarantees the participation of all citizens, access to equal justice for all before the law, and a readiness to resolve conflicts through constructive, peaceful means.

The Eritrean Bishops, therefore, call for an end to the hostilities and appeal that both sides resolve the conflict through peaceful dialogue instead of “all the inflammatory words and propaganda that are fanning the fire.” 

Pope’s appeal for peace

Pope Francis, during the Angelus on 8 November appealed for peace in the troubled Tigray region. He said that he “is following with concern” the news regarding the escalation of violence in Ethiopia and appealed to authorities to “reject the temptation of armed conflict.”

The Pope also invited all Ethiopians to pray for the nation and encouraged “fraternal respect for dialogue and the peaceful resolution of discord.”

Ethiopia’s conflict

Ethiopia’s northern state of Tigray is run by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The group, once the dominant ruling coalition in the East African country, began to lose its hold on power after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018. The Prime Minister dissolved the ruling coalition and merged its regional parties into one single party, sparking allegations of unfair treatment.

Tensions escalated in August after the Abiy Ahmed-led government rescheduled national elections till next year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Tigray leaders, alleging that the postponement was the Prime Minister’s strategy to prolong his stay in office, organized their own elections in September, with over 2 million people going to the polls.

The Ethiopian government, in retaliation, placed sanctions on the Tigray state, setting into motion a series of recriminations between the state and federal governments.

On 4 November, Abiy announced a military offensive against Tigray in response to an alleged attack on a military base in Mekelle. Several hundred have been killed in the violent conflict and over 200,000 Ethiopians have fled for their lives into neighboring Sudan.

MEPs call on EU leaders to end MFF deadlock without giving in on rule of law | News | European Parliament

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MEPs call on EU leaders to end MFF deadlock without giving in on rule of law | News | European Parliament

, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20201120IPR92129/

French Bishops call for “realistic” measures for the resumption of Masses – Vatican News

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French Bishops call for “realistic” measures for the resumption of Masses - Vatican News

Vatican News staff writer

The worst of the second wave of the coronavirus is over: Those were the words of French President Emmanuel Macon as he gave a televised address to the nation on Tuesday evening.

But he also warned, “We must do everything to avoid a third lockdown.” With that in mind, he said restaurants, cafes and bars would stay shut until Jan. 20 to avoid triggering a third wave.

Easing of restrictions

This gradual easing of curbs means that from Saturday, November 28, shops will re-open following a month long lockdown imposed on Oct 30.

In mid-December, the lockdown will be lifted if the number of new cases has fallen to around 5,000 a day, and people will be free to travel across the country to see family and friends over the Christmas period. Theatres and cinemas will also be allowed to open their doors again.

France registered over 9,000 cases on Tuesday, and crossed the 50,000 deaths milestone.

Church response

However, not everyone is happy with the new arrangements. The French Bishops’ Conference said in a statement the announcement of a resumption of public ceremonies with a maximum of 30 people was both “disappointing and surprising.”

The statement went on to say that the matter was discussed in a phone call between the French President and the President of the Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort.

The Archbishop tweeted on Tuesday evening that Catholic voices were not heard and the Conference was asking that the measure be revised.

In an updated statement on Wednesday the Bishops said, “It appears that a realistic, yet strict, measure will be defined by Thursday morning for implementation in two stages: Saturday 28 November and then after the reassessment of 15 December.” “It is in this perspective that the EFC (French Episcopal Conference) continues its dialogue with the offices of the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Interior”.

Prime Minister Jean Castex is due to hold a press briefing Thursday morning to detail Emmanuel Macron‘s announcement concerning the gradual lifting of restrictions.

So, for the time being, while the resumption of public worship in France is now a certainty, the way it is implemented continues to be subject to adjustments.