The Impact of European Commission in the Fund

8/4/2019 The Impact of European Commission in the Fund

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The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. Thebody is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions,upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of theUnion.

The Commission operates as a cabinet government, with 27 Commissioners.There is one Commissioner per member state, though Commissioners arebound to represent the interests of the EU as a whole rather than their homestate. One of the 27 is the Commission President (currently Jos Manuel DuroBarroso) appointed by the European Council. The Council then appoints theother 26 Commissioners in agreement with the nominated President, and thenthe 27 Commissioners as a single body are subject to a vote of approval by theEuropean Parliament. The first Barroso Commission took office in late2004and its successor, under the same President, took office in 2010.

The term "Commission" can mean either the 27 Commissioners themselves(known as the College of Commissioners), or the larger institution that alsoincludes the administrative body of about 25,000 European civil servants whoare split into departments called Directorates-General and Services. Theinternal working languages are English, French and German. TheCommissioners and their immediate teams are based in the Berlaymontbuilding of Brussels.

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Concept open to any European country which is democratic, has

a market economy (OPEN DOOR) possesses the administrative capacity to handle the

rights and obligations of membership

Enlargement = ongoing process

has already welcomed successive waves of new members also created a single market and a single currency, and

expanded its responsibilities from economic and socialpolicies to cover foreign and security policy

added to the wide cultural and linguistic diversity whichis a hallmark of the European Union


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Cont:

The 2004 enlargement, from 15 to 25 country, the biggest in

the Unions history Bulgaria and Romania became EU members in January

2007.

The experience of previous EU enlargements has shown

how well the EU integration process works. To join, new members must have:

stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, humanrights and respect for and protection of minorities;

a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope withcompetitive pressure and market forces within the Union;

the ability to take on the obligations of membership, including supportfor the aims of the Union. They must have a public administrationcapable of applying and managing EU laws in practice.


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Even before Bulgaria and Romania joined the Union, entrynegotiations with two more candidate countries, Turkeyand Croatia, had begun (in October 2005).

In June 2010, the European Council decided to opennegotiations with Iceland.

The EU is now looking at further enlargements in theWestern Balkans include: Bosnia &Herzegovina

Serbia

Montenegro

Albania


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Iceland became an independent republic on 17 June 1944.Iceland and the European Union have been cooperatingextensively across a broad range of areas over the last forty years.Iceland joined the European Free Trade Association in 1970 andhas been a party to the Agreement on the European Economic

Area (EEA) since its entry into force in 1994. Participating in the single market for over 15 years through the

EEA Agreement, Iceland has adopted a significant part ofEuropean Union law.

Against the background of the financial crisis, Iceland invoked

the exceptional balance of payments safeguards allowed for non-Eurozone countries. These temporary safeguards some of

which were lifted in November 2009 - restrict capital flowsbetween Iceland and EU/EEA members.


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POLITICAL CRITERIA Iceland is a functioning democracy with strong institutions. It is

a parliamentary republic with deeply rooted traditions ofrepresentative democracy and division of powers. Itsconstitutional and legal order and governing institutions are

stable. The separation of powers between the legislature, the executive

and the judiciary is respected. The government is subject toeffective parliamentary control; its ministers are accountable fortheir acts. Municipal authorities function efficiently.

Icelands judiciary is of a high standard and the judicial system iswell established. The effective independence of the judiciary, inparticular the procedure for judicial appointments, is, however, amatter of concern.


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ECONOMIC CRITERIA

Iceland is a small open economy and a member of the EEA since 1994. As anEEA member,

Iceland is well integrated into the EU economy. During the 1990s and for mostof the past decade, it restructured its economy, mostly through deregulationand liberalisation. It moved from an economy based mainly on the fishingsector to being more diversified with a large and open financial sector. Giventhe degree of exposure of Icelandic banks and the lack of adequate financialsector supervision, in the context of global financial turmoil, Icelands bankingsector collapsed in 2008, pushing the economy into a monetary and financialcrisis which led to deep recession. The government subsequently sought theassistance of the international community, including the IMF, to support the

currency and re-establish sustainable macroeconomic stability. The IMF stand-by arrangement for 1.4 billion focuses on currency stability, fiscalconsolidation and bank restructuring.

The gravity of the economic crisis and the resulting political situation inIceland delayed the implementation of the IMF programme. However, sincesummer 2009, a broad consensus about the fundamentals for recovery hasbeen reached. The authorities have taken important economic stabilisation

measures, aimed at fiscal consolidation, exchange rate stabilisation andfinancial sector restructuring. The first positive results of these measures arestarting to emerge. Iceland has a relatively flexible labour market with highparticipation rates, a relatively young working population and a well managedand robust resource base.


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ABILITY TO ASSUME THE OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP In general, Iceland has a satisfactory track record in

implementing its EEA obligations. According to the EFTASurveillance Authority (ESA), the percentage of internal market

legislation introduced into national legislation as required byJuly 2009 is at the same level as the average for EU MemberStates. The total number of infringement proceedingsagainstIceland decreased significantly in recent months. ESA'sinvestigation into the emergency legislation and actions taken byIceland in the aftermath of the banking collapse, including its

compatibility with EEA law, is ongoing. Iceland is on the wholewell prepared to assume the obligations of membership in mostareas, in particular fields covered by the EEA.

In the following areas, Iceland will need to make serious effortsto align its legislation with the acquis and/or to implement andenforce it effectively in the medium term in order to meet in duecourse the accession criteria: fisheries; agriculture and ruraldevelopment; the environment; free movement of capital;financial services; as well as customs union; taxation; statistics;food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy; regional policyand coordination of structural instruments; financial control.


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Austria (since 1995-01-01)(EUR) Belgium (EUR)

Bulgaria (since 2007-01-01)

Cyprus (Greek part) (since 2004-05-01)(EUR: 2008-01-01)

Czech Republic (since 2004-05-01)

Denmark

Estonia (since 2004-05-01)

Finland (since 1995-01-01)(EUR)

France (EUR)

Germany (EUR)

Greece (EUR)

Hungary (since 2004-05-01)

Ireland (EUR)

Italy (EUR)


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Latvia (since 2004-05-01)

Lithuania (since 2004-05-01) Luxembourg (EUR)

Malta (since 2004-05-01)(EUR: 2008-01-01)

Netherlands (EUR)

Poland (since 2004-05-01)

Portugal (EUR) Romania (since 2007-01-01)

Slovakia (since 2004-05-01)(EUR: 2009-01-01)

Slovenia (since 2004-05-01)(EUR)

Spain (EUR)

Sweden (since 1995-01-01)

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland


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The European Commission has proposed a Directive onAlternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs) with theobjective to create a comprehensive and effective regulatoryand supervisory framework for AIFMs at the European

level. The proposed Directive will provide robust andharmonized regulatory standards for all AIFM within scopeand will enhance the funds they manage towards investorsand public authorities. This will enable Member States to:

improve the macro-prudential oversight of the sector to take coordinated action as necessary to ensure the proper

functioning of financial markets.


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Proceedings from High-Level Conference onPrivate Equity and Hedge Funds

The European Commission organized a High-LevelConference on Private Equity and Hedge Funds, on26th and 27th February 2009.

The conference brought together representatives of

the hedge fund and private equity industries,investors, members of the regulatory community andother experts to discuss emerging policy issues inthese sectors.

The conference focused in particular on financialstability, transparency and investor protection.


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Feedback on public consultation on Hedge Funds

The European Commission held a public consultation

on hedge funds. The consultation, which has nowclosed, sought input from all interested parties on arange of issues relating to the activities of hedge funds.Over 100 responses were received from a range of

stakeholders. A summary of the contributions receivedhas been published, accompanied by individualcontributions (except where respondents requestedconfidentiality).


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Foreign direct investment (FDI) has played a crucial role in theoverall development of the Irish economy over the past threedecades, as the Republic of Ireland, hereafter referred to asIreland, has pursued an industrial strategy characterized by

promoting export-led-growth in Irish manufacturing throughvarious financial supports and fiscal incentives, and

encouraging foreign companies to establish manufacturingplants in Ireland, producing specifically for export markets.

The significance of FDI for the Irish economy is now reflected in,

inter alia, the significant gap between GNP and GDP; in 1994,GNP was roughly 88 per cent of GDP in Ireland.

As regards the manufacturing sector, the high shares of outputand employment in foreign-owned companies in Ireland also

indicate the importance of foreign firms.


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From the early 1930s until the mid-1960s Ireland had a highlyprotected economy with some of the highest rates of effectiveprotection of any economy in the world (McAleese, 1971).

In particular, these tariffs protected Irish manufacturingindustry against imports from the UK.

Reductions in tariffs began in 1966 as a consequence of theAnglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement, and the process waseventually completed in 1978, following Ireland's membership in1973 of the European Economic Community (EEC).

In the absence of FDI, the reduction of high tariffs in Irelandwould have required a massive devaluation against sterling,when policy at the time was fully committed to maintaining thatlink at parity.

The scale of FDI coupled with some restructuring support for

import-substituting Irish firms allowed the exchange rate to bemaintained, and an inevitable shake out in the indigenous sectorto take place without any massive decline in total employment inthe manufacturing sector.


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In addition, FDI has played a key role in the process ofadjustment within the manufacturing sector and acrossgeographic regions.

The sector composition of FDI overall is less concentrated

on traditional and food-sector activities than that ofindigenous manufacturing, and thus the growth of the FDIcomponent in manufacturing

On FDI in the manufacturing sector, as the sector whereFDI has hitherto had its greatest impact, in terms of output

share and the associated high export ratios. In the context of both the manufacturing and

internationally-traded service sectors we assess the majorimpact of foreign-owned industries in Ireland by focusingprimarily on the associated employment which has always

been the major target of the policy makers. Also focus on a value-added type measure to try to capture

the degree of linkages of foreign companies into the Irisheconomy.


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The European Commission, recognizing the important roleof tourism in the European economy, has been increasinglyinvolved in tourism since the early 1980s, in co-operation

with the Council, the European Parliament, the EuropeanEconomic and Social Committee and the Committee of theRegions.

An important step forward was taken with theestablishment of the Tourism Advisory Committee in 1986,the role of which is to facilitate exchange of information,consultation and co-operation on

At present the Advisory Committee, which is composed ofrepresentatives from all Member States, providesinformation on the measures taken at national level in thearea of tourism. This Committee meets several times a year.


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The decision of the Council of Ministers to declare the year1990 "The European Year of Tourism" was designed toemphasize the role of tourism and to develop a coherent

policy approach,, along with the 1992 three year ActionPlan to Assist Tourism Following its 1995 Green Paper on the Role of the Union in

the field of Tourism, in order to stimulate a debate on theUnion's role in tourism, the European Commissionadopted (30 April 1996) a proposal for a Council Decisionon a First Multiannual Programmed to assist EuropeanTourism ("Philomena" 1997-2000).

The Commissions' proposal received the favorable opinionof the other European institutions - the EuropeanParliament, the European Economic and Social Committee

and the Committee of the Regions, nevertheless theCouncil of Ministers was not been able to reach anunanimous agreement and the Commission formally

withdrew its proposal in April 2000.


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The Community activities representing tourism were thus embedded inthe "Tourism and Employment" process.

The process "Tourism andemployment

On 4-5 November 1997 a joint Presidency/Commission Conference onTourism and Employment was held in Luxembourg on the theme oftourism and employment (Conference on 'Employment and Tourism:Guidelines for Actions'

In order to give a practical orientation to the results of the Conference aHigh Level Group on Tourism and Employment was set up.

The Group's mandate was to examine the conditions in which tourismcould make a greater contribution to growth and stability inemployment in European tourism, and to make recommendations. Thesetting up of the group confirmed the Commission's determination tostimulate the contribution of tourism-related activities to growth andemployment.

The High Level Group was composed of qualified tourism professionalsfrom all Member States. Its report was presented on 22 October 1998(European tourism: new partnerships for jobs.


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Doing justice to Europe: taking evidence in civil and commercialmatters in Slovenia.

Europe at heart: Lithuania and the EU offer better chances for peoplewith cardiovascular disease.

Getting to know you: students from the new Member States. Safer for all Europeans on the move: improving road safety in

Lithuania.

Improving road safety for children: the Czech Republic and Latvia atthe top of the class! Another star for the EURO: Slovenia becomes the first of the new

Member States to adopt the EU's common currency. Fighting faceless enemies: the new Member States join the EU's efforts

to make the Internet safer for children. Strength in numbers: new Member States enhance police cooperation

in the EU. Securing jobs and opening markets: German and Austrian firms doing

business in Central and Eastern Europe

The Impact of European Commission in the Fund

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