EC Consults on Digital Euro; ESMA CWG Seeks Experts on Green Finance
The European Commission (EC) published a call for evidence and consultation on the regulation on digital euro while the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is seeking candidates for its newly established Consultative Working Group (CWG) of the Coordination Network on Sustainability by May 04, 2022.
The Consultative Working Group, which expects to have about 20 members, will provide technical input into ESMA’s work on sustainable finance. ESMA is particularly interested in applications from experts representing institutional and retail investors, investment managers, investment services providers, issuers, benchmarks administrators, credit and ESG ratings providers, auditors, third-party verifiers, data providers, financial innovation players, market infrastructures and non-governmental organizations, and think tanks or research units with expertise in the field of sustainable finance. The Coordination Network on Sustainability develops ESMA’s views on cross-cutting issues and may point to areas requiring additional research by ESMA and to potential inconsistencies in EU legislation.
The targeted consultation on digital euro is open until June 14, 2022 and seeks evidence on the following issues:
- User needs and expectations for a digital euro
- The digital euro’s role in the retail payments and the digital economy
- Making the digital euro available for retail use while continuing to safeguard the legal tender status of euro cash
- The digital euro’s impact on the financial sector and the financial stability
- Application of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CFT) rules
- The privacy and data protection aspects
- International payments with a digital euro
EC aims to establish and regulate essential aspects of the digital euro as a new form of central bank money, which could be issued by the European Central Bank or the Eurosystem alongside banknotes and coins. The targeted consultation aims to collect information from industry specialists, payment service providers (including credit institutions, payment, and e-money institutions), payment infrastructure providers, developers of payment solutions, merchants, merchant associations, consumer associations, retail payments regulators, and supervisors, AML supervisors, Financial Intelligence Units, and other relevant authorities and experts. In a separate press release, the European Council announced its adoption of the conclusions on strategic autonomy of the European economic and financial sector. In the conclusions, the Council focuses on strengthening the international role of the euro, shielding and strengthening the resilience of financial-market infrastructure, developing an effective mechanism for managing sanctions, and avoiding risks arising from excessive reliance on third-country financial institutions and infrastructures.
Related Links
- ESMA Press Release
- EC Overview of Consultation
- Consultation Document on Digital Euro (PDF)
- EC Call for Evidence
- European Council Press Release
Keywords: Europe, EU, Banking, Insurance, Securities, Sustainable Finance, ESG, Digital Euro, AML CFT, Digital Currency, Regtech, ESMA, EC, European Council
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