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Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 17-10-2023 | 17:05

Liesje Schreinemacher: ‘It’s vital that this humanitarian aid reaches Gaza quickly. Almost 1.3 million people urgently need water, medicine and food.’

The Dutch government is concerned about the growing crises in the Gaza Strip. It has emphasised that international humanitarian law must be respected. Humanitarian aid workers and other civilians must never be targets of violence. And access for aid workers and relief supplies must be unimpeded. The government consistently stresses this message in its contacts with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and other partners in the region.

The UN needs $294 million to meet the urgent needs of the population in Gaza and the region. The new Dutch contribution is in addition to the €51 million that the Netherlands already budgeted this year for development cooperation and humanitarian aid for the Palestinians.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 09-10-2023 | 16:12

Dutch funds for recovery and reconstruction are crucial to Ukraine’s ability to withstand Russia’s armed aggression. The latest support package was assembled in response to a needs assessment by the Ukrainian authorities, the World Bank and the European Commission. By providing it, the Netherlands is helping Ukraine address its most urgent needs.

Preparations for winter

Russia is expected to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure again this winter. Ukraine requires significant aid to restore its energy infrastructure; its energy ministry estimates that the country needs $3.7 to $4 billion at present. To help it prepare for the coming months, the Netherlands will provide €20 million, via the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to purchase gas and build up strategic gas reserves. A further €10 million will cover deliveries of transformers, switch components and cables needed to repair the electricity grid.

Export credit insurance

Given the enormous extent of Ukraine’s needs, the recovery and reconstruction process will require contributions from both the public and private sectors. For this reason, the government is encouraging businesses in the Netherlands to play their part. Dutch businesses are very interested in doing so. What’s more, they have unique knowledge and expertise. At the same time, doing business in a country that is at war involves major risks, which can result in payment problems. Export credit insurance for Ukraine covers investment and transaction risks that are not covered by commercial insurers. This makes it easier for Dutch companies to invest in and export products to Ukraine, and thus contribute to reconstruction. This extra contribution of €60 million brings the total amount of coverage in Ukraine to €120 million. 

Financial stabilisation and reforms

To keep its economy running and stand its ground as the war continues, Ukraine needs financial and economic stability and strong institutions. For this reason, the IMF approved a programme for an extensive reform agenda in the spring of 2023. The Netherlands will contribute €7 million to the IMF fund, which will provide Ukraine with technical assistance as it carries out  reforms. The reform agenda is geared towards improving financial stability and economic recovery, and bolstering institutions.

The Netherlands will also contribute €5 million to the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine, whose aim is to reinforce local and regional authorities and assist in quick recovery in areas liberated from Russian occupation. This includes the repair of drinking-water and electricity infrastructure, and resources for primary healthcare and education.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 10-10-2023 | 06:00

The shrewd ways of online deception make everyone vulnerable to being swindled, according to recent research.

“If you were standing face to face with a criminal in real life, you might not be so easily misled. Online, this is much more challenging. An increasing number of people are falling victim to online crime. Perpetrators are becoming more cunning, and a real message can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from a fake one. With this campaign, we aim to help people recognise online deception more quickly so that they check the sender first and simply click away when in doubt,” explains Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius.

Interest in learning

Some 2.2 million Dutch people were affected by online crime last year, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Alongside the financial damage they suffered as a result, they also often experience emotional damage. They feel less safe and have less trust in others, for example.

“Our research shows that Dutch people have an interest in learning more about how to recognise and prevent online scams,” said Mara Verheijen, one of the authors of the study ‘Digitale Vaardigheden van Nederlanders’ (Digital Skills in the Netherlands), conducted by Centerdata on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. The new campaign titled ‘Laat je niet interneppen‘ will contribute to this.

Exploiting personal situations

How does it work? Criminals often exploit a personal situation online to extract personal information. They pretend to be someone else. Someone who can be trusted, such as a friend or a shop assistant with a great offer. Criminals contact their targets by email, SMS or WhatsApp and exploit human character traits such as curiosity, trust, greed, fear and lack of knowledge to make their move.

Government campaign

The Ministry of Justice and Security and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations’ multi-year campaign calls on people to thoroughly check the sender of online messages and, when in doubt, to click or swipe away. At laatjenietinterneppen.nl, information is available on how to recognise this type of online fraud and how to counter it.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 06-10-2023 | 15:45

Eventful migration year

2022 was an eventful migration year. The focus was on addressing the most acute challenges in the refugee crisis. This was tackled diligently by implementing agencies, municipalities, provinces, security regions and other stakeholders.

Migration involves much more than the asylum domain and the intake of displaced Ukrainians. The State of Migration therefore addresses various migration flows, including asylum, family, labour and study.

About the State of Migration

Migration is the subject of much debate and developments are proceeding rapidly. This makes accurate information about migration essential. The State of Migration provides this information, for a balanced debate and policy substantiation. Figures are used to illustrate who enters the Netherlands and how many people leave. In addition, figures on the integration of migrants into society are presented, for example on housing and civic integration. The developments in the Netherlands are not isolated. Accordingly, the international and European perspective is also outlined.

The State of Migration is a co-production of the Ministries of Justice and Security, Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and Social Affairs and Employment.

Source: European Banking Authority

The EBA announces timing for publication of 2023 EU-wide transparency exercise and Risk Assessment Report

14 November 2023

Source: European Banking Authority

The Joint Committee of the three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – the ESAs) today published two amended Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on the mapping of credit assessments of External Credit Assessment Institutions (ECAIs). The amendments reflect the outcome of a monitoring exercise on the adequacy of existing mappings, and the deregistration of three credit rating agencies (CRAs).

In the amended ITS published today the ESAs are proposing to change the credit quality step (CQS) allocation for four ECAIs, and to introduce new or amended credit rating scales for seven ECAIs. Further, the amended ITS no longer contain mapping tables for the three ECAIs, whose licenses have been revoked since the previous amendment. The ESAs have published individual draft mapping reports illustrating how the methodology was applied to produce the amended mappings in line with the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) mandate.

Background

The implementing technical standards on ECAIs aim to ensure that EU-based financial institutions may only use external credit assessments for the calculation of their capital requirements when these are issued or endorsed by recognized institutions. To this end, the ESAs developed an approach to map credit assessments to the credit quality steps as defined in EU regulations for banking (CRR) and insurance (Solvency II Directive).

The amended ITS continue delivering on the mandate assigned to the Joint Committee of the ESAs to monitor the adequacy of existing ECAIs mappings. The ITS are part of the EU Single Rulebook for banking and insurance aimed at creating a safe and sound regulatory framework consistently applicable across the European Union (EU).

Legal Basis

The proposed revised draft ITSs have been developed according to Article 136 (1) and (3) of Regulation 575/2013 (Capital Requirements Regulation) and of Article 109 (a) of Directive 2009/138/EC (Solvency II Directive), which state that revised draft ITS shall be submitted by the ESAs, where necessary.

Source: European Banking Authority

Source: European Banking Authority

Source: European Banking Authority

Source: European Banking Authority