This week's plenary session in Strasbourg, saw the European Parliament adopting comprehensive banking regulation to protect taxpayers' money from propping up the banks, following a year of negotiations with EU Member States. The Directive ensures that banks build solid security buffers and put aside not only more but better capital to cover their business risks so that taxpayers' money no longer has to be used to prop up the banks. SMEs' will have better access to finance, provision for loans will be raised and the risk ratio dropped by 30%.
The Parliament also voted against the Commission's proposal to withdraw carbon emission certificates. Since the economic crisis there has been an increase of supply of emission allowances but reduced demand and consequently a fall in market prices. To address this imbalance the Commission proposed a system of backloading or withdrawal of 900 million allowances from the market, but Eija-Riitta Korhola, the Group's spokesperson on the issue, said that the present situation is merely the result of a functioning market mechanism since the recession. Removing a large number of emission certificates would lead to higher energy prices and hinder growth and job creation.
Members also condemned the EU's handling of the Cyprus bailout. For the EPP Group it is now of paramount importance to implement the banking union and a single supervisory mechanism as soon as possible to avoid similar crises. The Group understands that the agreed economic and financial adjustment programme is painful for the Cypriot people but expressed its full support to the government to help Cyprus back onto the road to sustainable growth.
Available material includes an edited package.
The Parliament also voted against the Commission's proposal to withdraw carbon emission certificates. Since the economic crisis there has been an increase of supply of emission allowances but reduced demand and consequently a fall in market prices. To address this imbalance the Commission proposed a system of backloading or withdrawal of 900 million allowances from the market, but Eija-Riitta Korhola, the Group's spokesperson on the issue, said that the present situation is merely the result of a functioning market mechanism since the recession. Removing a large number of emission certificates would lead to higher energy prices and hinder growth and job creation.
Members also condemned the EU's handling of the Cyprus bailout. For the EPP Group it is now of paramount importance to implement the banking union and a single supervisory mechanism as soon as possible to avoid similar crises. The Group understands that the agreed economic and financial adjustment programme is painful for the Cypriot people but expressed its full support to the government to help Cyprus back onto the road to sustainable growth.
Available material includes an edited package.
