MIL Publishing Engine 1

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 28-03-2024 | 15:59

In ‘Project Beethoven’, central government and regional authorities have worked out a substantial package of measures for education, knowledge and spatial infrastructure, amounting to €2.51 billion in total. The measures are intended to strengthen the Dutch chip industry and support the further growth of activities in the Brainport Eindhoven hub. The package includes investment in vocational and professional talent, and in sufficient space, good accessibility and affordable housing in the Brainport Eindhoven area. The government will also strive for a level playing field internationally and for better European coordination in the area of semiconductor technologies. In the short term the government will present alternative tax incentives for entrepreneurs, but these will require the approval of the House of Representatives and Senate.

Investing in talent

The availability of vocational, professional and academic talent is a crucial precondition for a strong chip industry in the Netherlands. With this in mind, the government will be making additional investments in talent development amounting to €450 million to the end of 2030 and €80 million annually after that. The aim is to rapidly increase enrolment in appropriate engineering courses, for example by recruiting and admitting more school leavers and encouraging more people to retrain for jobs in this industry. Since this is a national commitment, the government is asking institutions for secondary vocational and higher professional education and universities in four regions (Groningen, Enschede, Delft and Eindhoven) to work jointly with the industry on a detailed plan, to be presented in the short term. The plan should also aim to increase the diversity of the student population in engineering courses in order to benefit from all available talent.

Good accessibility, space and affordable housing

A good business climate also means ensuring good access to housing, business premises and public amenities. With an eye to this, central government and regional parties plan to invest substantially in infrastructure in the Brainport region. This will include additional investment in the Multimodal Hub Eindhoven project around Eindhoven central station, which will combine more capacity for domestic and international trains and buses with infrastructure for bicycles and new housing. Other measures will facilitate more express bus services in the region, for example between Eindhoven central station and Veldhoven and to destinations along the A2/N2 motorway. All this will result in quick and easy connections between campuses in the region and with Eindhoven central station. Additional money has been reserved for the A2/N2 motorways around Eindhoven. An evaluation is being carried out into how best to improve traffic flow on these routes. Finally, funding will also go to a broad package of measures that can be carried out in the short term, such as the creation of hubs and cycle routes and agreements with employers in the region. In total, the central government contribution will be €718 million and the regional contribution €340 million.

The government will conduct an exploratory study to identify grid capacity shortages in the Brainport region, after which Brainport Development will look at possible solutions for the areas where this problem is most concerning.

Central and regional authorities intend to build nearly 20,000 new homes by the end of 2030, on top of the 45,000 that were already planned as part of the regional housing agreement. Together they will provide €425 million for this purpose, thus making these newbuild projects financially feasible and investing in making the region a more attractive place to live and work.

Of central government’s total contribution, €1.28 billion will come from the National Growth Fund. Given the enormous growth potential that the chip industry and Brainport represent, as well as the positive role that a strong ecosystem can play in terms of addressing national challenges, these investments are in line with the National Growth Fund’s purpose of strengthening the Netherlands’ future earning potential.

The government expects that these measures will lead ASML to continue to invest and base its operations in the Netherlands, including for statutory and tax purposes. The package of measures was designed based on current growth forecasts and investment plans of the semiconductor industry and Brainport Eindhoven. Any changes in these investment plans will result in an adjustment to the forecasts and the requisite public commitment.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 26-03-2024 | 11:11

Protection from conflict-related sexual violence is one of the Netherlands’ main priorities in its efforts to ensure accountability for international crimes and human rights violations, and its special focus on this issue is also in line with its feminist foreign policy.

‘Sexual violence is a horrific violation of international humanitarian law that occurs all too often in conflicts and wars. We also see that in the conflicts that are currently dominating the news,’ said Ms Bruins Slot. ‘The consequences for the victims are severe; not just the physical scars, but the psychological and social effects too. It’s appalling that this type of violence in particular almost always goes unpunished. Because many countries’ judicial systems fall short in this area, because nothing is done when victims speak out, or because victims don’t report the crime because they are ashamed, or afraid of being stigmatised. The conference provides a unique platform for exchanging good practices. Victims of sexual violence deserve justice. And what’s more, prosecution has a deterrent effect.’

The conference will focus on practical and technical aspects. Participants will share experiences with regard to investigation and prosecution and the conference will form the starting point for a ‘community of practice’ that will further expand cooperation in this area.

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) extended today the deadline for applications to the call for expression of interest to set up its new Banking Stakeholder Group (BSG) and create a reserve list.  The extended deadline for application is 9 April 2024 at 23:59 CEST.

The call for expression of interest is open to candidates representing stakeholders across the European Union. 

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today launched a call for papers in view of its 13th Policy Research Workshop taking place on 6-7 November 2024 and titled “Boundaries of Banking Regulation”. The deadline for submitting papers is 5 July 2024.

The workshop aims at bringing together economists and researchers from supervisory authorities and central banks, as well as leading academics, to discuss and explore policies that can ensure innovation in a context of competition and risk arbitrage, while ensuring financial stability.

In preparation for the workshop, the EBA invites the submission of policy-oriented, preferably empirical, research papers on the following topics:
•    Implications of the growing role of non-bank financial intermediaries for loan origination standards, access to finance for riskier borrowers and for the stability of credit supply over the business cycle.
•    Maturity transformation intermediated by asset management firms, including private equity and hedge funds, non-bank finance firms and the use of security markets.
•    Links between non-supervised and supervised financial entities and potential financial stability implications of failures of non-bank financial firms.
•    Importance of regulatory supervision for non-bank systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs).
•    Development of digital technologies, regulatory challenges and responses.

Interested parties can download the detailed call for papers, which includes additional information on the proposed topics for the papers, composition of the programme committee and contact details for the submission of papers. The submission deadline is 5 July 2024.

Contributors will be notified by September 2024.

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today an updated list of institutions, which have a reporting obligation for the purpose of the 2024 EU supervisory benchmarking exercise. The EBA will be conducting the 2024 benchmarking exercise on a sample of 110 institutions from 16 countries across the EU and the European Economic Area. The EBA runs this exercise leveraging on established data collection procedures and formats of regular supervisory reporting and assists Competent Authorities in assessing the quality of internal approaches used to calculate risk weighted exposure amounts.

Legal Basis

The benchmarking exercises are conducted in accordance with Article 78 of the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD), which mandates the Authority to produce a report to assist the competent authorities in assessing the quality of the internal approaches.

These annual exercises provide a regular supervisory tool based on benchmarks to support competent authorities’ assessments of internal models and produce comparisons with EU peers.

They also increase the convergence of supervisory practices concerning the internal model’s application in the regulatory framework.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 19-03-2024 | 15:03

The minister said, ‘The people of Gaza urgently need a lot more food, water and medicine. The Netherlands urges all parties to expand access over land, which is the most effective and efficient way to get large amounts of aid into Gaza. But until this can be done, we will continue to explore all possible options. We are already contributing by means of air drops, and now of course we’re also facilitating the delivery of aid by sea.’

As well as visiting the port, the minister also went to see the location where goods can be inspected before being loaded onto ships once approved by Israel. He also spoke with representatives of the centre that will coordinate aid contributions from the various countries. ‘It’s very important to hear at first hand from the Cypriot authorities and other partners how the preparations for the corridor are progressing and what problems they are encountering in practice,’ the minister said.

Since the start of the conflict, the Dutch government has pledged an extra €56 million for humanitarian aid for Gaza. That is in addition to the annual amount of €51 million that the Netherlands provides for development cooperation and humanitarian aid for the Palestinians. The Netherlands also makes annual contributions to UN organisations and the Red Cross, thus indirectly supporting their efforts in Gaza as well.

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published the final draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) that set out the requirements, templates and procedures for handling complaints received by issuers of asset reference tokens (ARTs). The draft RTS fulfil a mandate conferred on the EBA in the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) and were developed in close cooperation with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

The draft RTS set out requirements related to the complaints management policy and function, the provision of information to holders of ARTs and other interested parties, templates, recordings, languages, the procedure to investigate complaints and to communicate the outcome of the investigations to complainants, and specific provisions for complaints handling involving third-party entities.

The draft RTS were subject to a public consultation between 12 July 2023 and 12 October 2023.  General support was shown by respondents for the approach proposed by the EBA, which they considered to be appropriately balanced. However, some respondents expressed their preference for a more uniform approach between the EBA’s RTS and the equivalent RTS by ESMA on complaints handling for crypto asset service providers. 

Having assessed the responses, the EBA decided to make a small number of targeted amendments with the aim to provide greater clarity and to further align with ESMA, in relation to requirements on languages, data protection and procedure for submitting an electronic complaint. 

Legal basis and background

The mandate for these draft RTS is set out in Article 31 (5) of MiCAR, which provides that the EBA shall develop, in close cooperation with ESMA, draft RTS to further specify the requirements, templates and procedures for handling complaints. The RTS shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 12-03-2024 | 12:31

Bangladesh is an important Dutch trading partner. The two countries have been partners in sustainable, inclusive and responsible business for many years and Bangladesh has recently made great strides in its development. So much so in fact that it will be considered a middle-income country from 2026. The Netherlands wishes to give further support to the country’s development through this new tax treaty.

Expanded taxing rights

To this end, Bangladesh will be given greater taxing rights under the treaty. The Netherlands adopted a new policy on tax treaties in 2020. Bangladesh is the first low-income developing country with which the Netherlands has since concluded a new treaty giving the source state the right to tax gross payments for technical services. This means Bangladesh is entitled to levy a 10% tax on payments made from Bangladesh to a Dutch service provider for technical services provided in Bangladesh. More source taxation rights are also granted by expanding the provision on permanent establishments in the treaty. This makes it more likely that an enterprise based in one country will have a taxable presence in the other country, for example when it provides services or carries on insurance activities. It has also been agreed that the source state may tax gains from the alienation of shares and comparable interests in businesses consisting largely of real estate.

The treaty also includes arrangements for preventing tax avoidance. These and other provisions in the treaty mean that it satisfies the minimum standards of the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project to combat tax avoidance.

The Netherlands works to enhance the capacity of developing countries to levy taxes by means, for example, of a project involving 23 developing countries including Bangladesh. These efforts have their basis in the sustainable development goals (SDGs). An important SDG target concerns improving the domestic revenue generation capacity of developing countries.

Next steps

Before the treaty can enter into force, the necessary process leading to ratification must be completed in both countries. In the Netherlands, treaties are first submitted to the Council of State for an advisory opinion and then, within four months after signature, submitted to parliament for approval.

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today launched a consultation  on the Guidelines for the plans to orderly redeem asset-referenced or e-money tokens in the event that the issuer fails to fulfil its obligations under the Markets in Crypto assets Regulation (MiCAR). The Guidelines specify the content of the redemption plan, the timeframe for review and the triggers for its implementation. The Guidelines  are addressed to issuers of asset-referenced tokens (ART) and of e-money tokens (EMT), and to competent authorities under MiCAR. The consultation run until 10 June 2024.

In particular, the draft Guidelines: 

Consultation process

Comments to the consultation paper can be sent by clicking on the “send your comments” button on the EBA’s consultation page. The deadline for the submission of comments is 10 June 2024. 

The EBA will hold a virtual public hearing on the consultation paper on 22 May from 14:00 to 16:00 Paris time. The EBA invites interested stakeholders to register using this link  by 17 May at 16:00 CEST.  The dial-in details will be communicated to those who have registered for the meeting.

All contributions received will be published following the end of the consultation, unless requested otherwise.

Legal basis

The EBA has developed the draft Guidelines on redemption plans based on the mandate set out in Article 47(5) of MiCAR. By virtue of the cross-reference set out in Article 55 MiCAR, the Guidelines also cover issuers of e-money tokens, as applicable. 

Background

Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCAR) establishes a regime for the regulation and supervision of crypto-asset issuance and crypto-asset service provision in the European Union (EU). It came into force on 29 June 2023, and the provisions relating to ARTs and EMTs will be applicable from 30 June 2024.

Among the activities within the scope of MiCAR are the activities of offering to the public or seeking admission to trading of ARTs and EMTs and issuing such tokens. Supervision tasks are conferred on the EBA for ARTs and EMTs that are determined by the EBA to be significant. Additionally, the EBA is mandated to develop 17 technical standards and guidelines under MiCAR to further specify the requirements for ARTs and EMTs, and an additional 3 mandates jointly with ESMA (and, in one case, also with the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority – EIOPA).

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published its final Guidelines on national lists or registers of credit servicers. The Guidelines are addressed to Competent Authorities managing the lists or registers and specify i) the content of the lists or registers, ii) how they should be made accessible, and iii) the deadlines for updating them. Furthermore, the lists or registers should facilitate borrowers’ access to information on complaint handling procedures offered by competent authorities.

The Guidelines require basic information about credit servicers, such as their name and address and home Member State, as well as other useful information, such as whether the credit servicer is currently authorised to conduct services or to receive and hold funds from borrowers.

In addition, the Guidelines specify that the lists or registers should be accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on the website of the competent authority or another electronic tool; that they should not require the user’s prior registration as a precondition for access; and and that they should be free of charge. The Guidelines also set the deadlines by which Competent Authorities have to update the lists or registers, i.e. one week for regular updates and two working days for critical updates on the withdrawal of authorisation or the banning to receive and hold funds from borrowers.

Following the feedback received during the public consultation from July to October 2023, the EBA further clarified various provisions in the Guidelines and decided to introduce minor additional requirements, namely for the lists or registers to be downloadable and available in English.

Legal basis

Article 9 (1) subparagraph 1 of Directive 2021/2167 on credit servicers and credit purchasers (Credit Servicers Directive – CSD, previously also referred to as the ‘NPL Directive’ or ‘Loan Servicers Directive’)  requires that Member States “ensure that the competent authorities (CA) establish and maintain at least a list or, where considered more appropriate, a national register, of all credit servicers authorised to provide services within their territory, including credit servicers providing services under Article 13 of this Directive.”.
In support of this requirement, the same Article mandates the EBA to “develop guidelines in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 for establishing and maintaining such lists or registers and specifying the types of information included in them in order to guarantee a level playing field across the Union and transparency for credit purchasers and for borrowers.”