Archive for the ‘European Union’ Category

Ajaccio declaration after the 7th Summit of the Southern EU countries (MED7) (10 Sept. 20) – France Diplomatie

1. We, the Heads of State and Government of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain, met on 10 September in Ajaccio for the seventh summit of the southern countries of the European Union (Med7).

2. In the face of the unprecedented crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic which has profoundly affected the populations and economies of our countries, the multiplication of regional crises and the escalation of tensions in the Mediterranean, it is more essential than ever for us to build a united and solidary Europe, that is able to meet all the challenges it faces and to defend the interests, the sovereignty and the sovereign rights of the European Union and its Member States with strength and determination.

For a renewed Mediterranean policy

3. We highlight the strategic importance of the Southern Neighborhood for Europe. 25 years after the launch of the Barcelona Process and more than ten years after the establishment of the Union for the Mediterranean, we propose to give a new impetus to a holistic European policy in the Mediterranean, with the aim of strengthening the capacity of the EU and its Member States to respond collectively to the various challenges of the region. In this perspective, and having in mind the ongoing work in the European Institutions, we propose to renew the Southern Partnership between the European Union, its Member States and our southern neighbours. We look forward to the Union for the Mediterranean Regional Forum on the 27th November, marking the 25th anniversary of the Barcelona Declaration, preceded by an EUSouthern Neighborhood meeting, in Spain, that will mark the first steps of this renewed Mediterranean policy.

4. This renewed Southern Partnership should aim at further strengthening the euroMediterranean relationship, including by strengthening the Union for the Mediterranean, consolidating the 5+5 Dialogue and promoting the achievements of the Summit of The Two Shores of the Western Mediterranean. It should be based on a positive political agenda, focused on the development of concrete cooperations on topics of common interest defined jointly with our southern partners: reforms, democratic governance, resilience of civil society, climate and environment, green transition, trade and investment, energy, culture and heritage protection, migration and mobility, youth empowerment and digital agenda. Taking into account that insecurity in the Sahel-Saharan area has a direct impact on the security situation in the Mediterranean, special attention will have to be paid to this region, especially regarding fight against terrorism and human trafficking and smuggling that contribute to irregular migration.

5. This renewed partnership should also allow us to find creative and constructive ways to manage euro-Mediterranean common goods and address issues of common interest, including access and sustainable management of natural resources. Joint commitments to protect biodiversity in the Mediterranean could thus be made at the One Planet Summit in Marseille in January 2021 and the Union for the Mediterraneans Ministerial Conference on Sustainable Blue Economy later in 2021. In the context of the promotion of the Blue Economy in the Mediterranean basin, we remain committed to further develop, also engaging with our southern partners, the use of Copernicus services for the monitoring and management of coastal areas. The initiative for the Sustainable Development of the Blue Economy in the Western Mediterranean (WestMED Initiative) could provide a valuable example for the whole basin of a balanced North South cooperation. Efforts should also be scaled up to achieve ambitious results at UNFCCC COP 26 and its events taking place in Italy, included the Youth4Climate Conference in Milan that will offer young people the opportunity to give a concrete contribution to the climate action. Similarly, the meeting of Heads of State/Government that will take place in Greece, in due course, on the protection of cultural and natural heritage from climate change impacts, will be another opportunity for close cooperation. The Generation Equality Forum which will take place in France in the first half of 2021 will also be an opportunity to engage civil societies on both sides of the Mediterranean towards a greater common ambition in terms of equality between women and men.

Peace and stability in the Mediterranean

6. We reiterate our full support and solidarity with Cyprus and Greece in the face of the repeated infringements on their sovereignty and sovereign rights, as well as confrontational actions by Turkey. We call upon all the countries in the region to abide by international law, in particular international law of the sea, and encourage all parties to resolve their disputes through dialogue and negotiation. In this respect, we welcome the mediation efforts of the HR/VP and Germany in order to achieve a resumption of the dialogue between Greece and Turkey on the maritime zone issue. In addition, we welcome the invitation by the Government of Cyprus to negotiate with Turkey, noting that delimitation of exclusive economic zones and continental shelf should be addressed through dialogue and negotiation in good faith, in full respect of international law and in accordance with the principle of good neighbourly relations. In line with recent European Council and EU Council conclusions, we regret that Turkey has not responded to the repeated calls by the European Union to end its unilateral and illegal activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea. We reaffirm our determination to use all adequate means at the disposal of the European Union in response to these confrontational actions. In line with the latest Informal Meeting of EU Foreign Ministers (Gymnich), we agree to speed up work on the additional listings based on the proposals tabled so far, with a view to its rapid adoption. We maintain that in absence of progress in engaging Turkey into a dialogue and unless it ends its unilateral activities, the EU is ready to develop a list of further restrictive measures that could be discussed at the European Council on 24-25 September 2020.

7. The volatile situation in Libya represents a threat to the stability of the country and of the entire region, including the European Union, and contributes to the aggravation of the terrorist threat and to human trafficking and smuggling. We recall the need for the EU to do its utmost to contribute to efforts to stabilize Libya. Capacity building is key for the Libyan authorities to acquire control over the land and sea borders and to combat transit and smuggling activities. We welcome the announcements issued on August 21 by the Heads of the Presidential Council and of the House of Representatives of the State of Libya that established founding principles for a shared path to overcome the current stalemate. It is a positive step in the right direction that must be developed. There is no military solution to the crisis: we urge all parties to agree to a ceasefire and to recommit themselves to the political dialogue under the aegis of the United Nations and the parameters agreed upon in the Berlin Conference. We also call for the immediate resumption of the oil production throughout the country, while also working to establish mechanisms to ensure an equitable and transparent distribution of oil revenues. We reiterate our opposition to all foreign interference in this conflict, wherever it may come from, and remain determined to enforce the UN arms embargo, including through Operation Irini, whose violations exacerbated the current military escalation in Libya. We also remain ready to adopt sanctions against those involved in violating the embargo and human rights as well as those who oppose the political process.

8. The explosion in Beirut on 4 August, which struck the city in its heart, was a shock to the Lebanese people as well as to all of Lebanons friends and partners, first and foremost the European Union. This tragedy has hit a country already weakened by the very deep political and economic crisis that it has been experiencing for several months and which continues to worsen. In these difficult times, we stand by the Lebanese people and we will continue to do our utmost to meet the countrys most pressing needs and accompany it on its way to economic adjustment. We reiterate that priority must be given to the swift formation of a government that can implement the reforms that the Lebanese people have been waiting for too long.

9. In Syria, the situation continues to deteriorate and the country is sinking into a cycle of lasting instability. Through our assistance to the Syrian people and refugees, through our determined action against terrorism within the International Coalition Against Daech, we seek to mitigate the effects of this tragedy. Our objective remains that of relaunching the political process and creating the conditions for the voluntary, safe and dignified return of refugees. The search for a negotiated political solution under the aegis of the United Nations is the only possible way out of the Syrian crisis. In this spirit, and while the Syrian regime continues its obstruction of any political change, we will continue to make the financing of Syrias reconstruction and the normalization of relations with Damascus conditional on the implementation of a credible and lasting political solution.

10. In Cyprus, recognizing that the status quo is not a viable alternative for the country, we fully support the declared commitment of the UN Secretary General to maintain his efforts for resuming negotiations from they were left off at Crans Montana Conference in 2017, leading to a viable comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem on the basis of a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality, as set out in the relevant UNSC resolutions and in line with the EU acquis, values and principles. We call all parties to commit and contribute to such a settlement, including its external aspects.

11. Regarding the Middle East peace process, only a negotiated solution for the establishment of two States living in peace and security along secure and recognized borders, and based on agreed parameters and international law, can lead to a just and lasting peace in the region. We welcome the announcement on 14 August of the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Israels commitment to suspend the annexation of Palestinian territories is a positive step, which must become definitive. As the European Union has pointed out on several occasions, any annexation of any kind would constitute a serious violation of international law. Any unilateral measure that could jeopardize the two-State solution and the prospect of the resumption of negotiations must be avoided.

European agenda

12. We welcome the agreement reached on Next Generation EU in Brussels on 21 July, which will be the instrument for a coordinated European recovery in response to the COVID-19 crisis. This agreement, unimaginable just a few months ago, is an unprecedented and innovative development, one of the most important since the creation of the euro zone. It is a strong signal, that of a Europe of solidarity and future-oriented by supporting the digital, environmental and climate priorities. This agreement is also a new step towards greater economic and social convergence between Member States and between regions, and thus greater economic stability on the continent. In this context, we stress the importance of the social dimension of Europes recovery and reaffirm our commitment towards the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights.

13. It is now important to fully implement this agreement by rapidly adopting the texts enabling it to become operational on 1 January 2021. We must also work towards effective reform of the own resources system, taking into consideration the proposals which the Commission will put forward in the first semester of 2021 regarding the introduction of a carbon border adjustment mechanism and a European digital levy with a view to their introduction at the latest by 1 January 2023.

14. The agreement on the multiannual financial framework and the recovery plan will make it possible to accompany the European Union and its territories in their transition to carbon neutrality. We are determined to adopt as soon as possible and at the latest before the end of the year our new objective of reducing emissions by 2030, which should reflect the highest possible degree of ambition. We commit to strengthen our climate diplomacy efforts by COP26, in order to secure revised upward commitments from the worlds largest emitters. We also commit to advance in the process aimed at the possible designation of the Mediterranean Basin, as whole, as a Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA) according to the decisions of the 21st Conference of the Parties of the Barcelona Convention (COP 21) held in Naples in December 2019.

15. The cooperation in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic regions is important for the completion of the Energy Union and for a fully integrated and interconnected European energy market, also with a view to putting an end to any isolation of Member States and islands from European gas and electricity networks. The Commissions future offshore renewable energy strategy should envisage cooperation to promote all sources of renewable and clean energy, including a thorough assessment of their potentials, and instruments that support all marine energies, such as the financing of industrial scale demonstration projects.

16. The new European Pact on Migration and Asylum to be presented shortly by the Commission will have to be based on shared responsibility and solidarity. It will have to enable the Union to deal with exceptional situations at external borders as well as with structural flows and to address issues of concern for all Member States, from front-line States to those affected by secondary movements. Such a system of shared responsibility would be coessential to the establishment of an authentically European system for management of returns. This unique opportunity to overcome the differences between Member States should be used to rebuild an effective and fair common European asylum system and to reinforce cooperation with third countries of origin and transit. It is also an opportunity to strengthen the functioning of the Schengen area. Concrete support to third countries, particularly North African countries, needs to be ensured to provide for sufficient operational capacity to manage migrations flows. Moreover, the new European Pact on Migration and Asylum will have to establish a solidarity mechanism, including those rescued through search and rescue operations. Together we will continue to seek permanent and predictable solutions.

17. In the negotiations on the future of the partnership with the United Kingdom, our ambition remains to reach a comprehensive, fair and balanced agreement before the end of the transition period, that reflects the United Kingdoms status as a third country and ensures a balance of rights and obligations. In accordance with the negotiating directives approved by the Council, the MED7 countries will pay particular attention to ensuring that the future partnership guarantees stable access to fisheries resources and robust level playing field provisions. To reach an agreement, it is essential that the United Kingdom makes real commitments in these areas. We will also remain vigilant on the effective implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement and of its three Protocols. At the same time, we stand ready for the inevitable changes that will occur at the end of the transition period, considering all possible scenarios, including the absence of agreement on the future partnership.

18. In the same spirit as the Schuman Declaration, adopted 70 years ago, meeting these historic challenges will require more European sovereignty, more concrete results and more real solidarity through coordination and action. If we want to succeed, European citizens must be closely involved in this reflection: this is why we support the ongoing work on the Conference on the Future of Europe. We welcome the adoption of the negotiating mandate in the Council, and now hope that we will quickly reach an interinstitutional agreement so that we can formally launch the Conference as soon as possible.

**

19. We agree to hold the next summit in Greece.

Read the original post:
Ajaccio declaration after the 7th Summit of the Southern EU countries (MED7) (10 Sept. 20) - France Diplomatie

EU force intercepts tanker with jet fuel headed to Libya – The Associated Press

ROME (AP) The European Union maritime force enforcing the U.N. arms embargo on Libya said Thursday it intercepted and redirected a tanker headed for Libya after determining it was carrying jet fuel in possible violation of the ban.

The MV Royal Diamond 7 was en route Thursday from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to Benghazi, Libya, when members of the EU forces Operation Irini boarded the ship 150 kilometers north of the Libyan city of Derna, the EU force said.

Just this week, U.N. experts accused the warring parties in Libya and their international backers including the UAE, Russia and Jordan on one side, and Turkey and Qatar on the other of sending weapons and mercenaries to Libya in violation of the totally ineffective U.N. embargo.

A statement from the EU mission said its inspection aboard the Marshall Islands-flagged MV Royal Diamond 7 determined the cargo was jet fuel, which it said was likely to be used for military purposes.

The mission noted that jet fuel is considered military material by the U.N., which has authorized the EU force to seize weapons and halt weapons-transporting ships bound for Libya.

The mission said it was redirecting the tanker to a European port for further investigation.

Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The county has since split between rival east- and west-based administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.

Continue reading here:
EU force intercepts tanker with jet fuel headed to Libya - The Associated Press

Statement by the European Commission following the extraordinary meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee – The European Sting

Credit: Unsplash

This article is brought to you in association with theEuropean Commission.

Following the publication by the UK government of the draft United Kingdom Internal Market Bill on 9 September 2020, Vice-President Maro efovi called for an extraordinary meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee to request the UK government to elaborate on its intentions and to respond to the EUs serious concerns. A meeting took place today in London between Vice-President Maro efovi and Michael Gove, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

The Vice-President stated, in no uncertain terms, that the timely and full implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland which Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government agreed to, and which the UK Houses of Parliament ratified, less than a year ago is a legal obligation. The European Union expects the letter and spirit of this Agreement to be fully respected. Violating the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement would break international law, undermine trust and put at risk the ongoing future relationship negotiations.

The Withdrawal Agreement entered into force on 1 February 2020 and has legal effects under international law. Since that point in time, neither the EU nor the UK can unilaterally change, clarify, amend, interpret, disregard or disapply the agreement. The Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland is an essential part of the Withdrawal Agreement. Its aim is to protect peace and stability on the island of Ireland and was the result of long, detailed and difficult negotiations between the EU and the UK.

Vice-President Maro efovi stated that if the Bill were to be adopted, it would constitute an extremely serious violation of the Withdrawal Agreement and of international law.

If adopted as proposed, the draft bill would be in clear breach of substantive provisions of the Protocol: Article 5 (3) & (4) and Article 10 on custom legislation and State aid, including amongst other things, the direct effect of the Withdrawal Agreement (Article 4). In addition, the UK government would be in violation of the good faith obligation under the Withdrawal Agreement (Article 5) as the draft Bill jeopardises the attainment of the objectives of the Agreement.

The EU does not accept the argument that the aim of the draft Bill is to protect the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement. In fact, it is of the view that it does the opposite.

Vice-President Maro efovi called on the UK government to withdraw these measures from the draft Bill in the shortest time possible and in any case by the end of the month. He stated that by putting forward this Bill, the UK has seriously damaged trust between the EU and the UK. It is now up to the UK government to re-establish that trust.

He reminded the UK government that the Withdrawal Agreement contains a number of mechanisms and legal remedies to address violations of the legal obligations contained in the text which the European Union will not be shy in using.

Visit link:
Statement by the European Commission following the extraordinary meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee - The European Sting

Statement of the UK Coordination Group and EP political group leaders | News – EU News

The European Parliaments UK Coordination Group (UKCG) met today to assess the impact of the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill on the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement with EU-UK Joint Committee Co-Chair Maro efovi and to evaluate the ongoing negotiations on the future EU-UK relationship with EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier.

EP political group leaders and UKCG members are deeply concerned and disappointed that the UK Government published an Internal Market Bill that clearly represents a serious and unacceptable breach of international law. It violates the Withdrawal Agreement that was signed and ratified by the current UK Government and Parliament less than a year ago. The Internal Market Bill gravely damages the trust and credibility that the European Parliament has already said is an essential element of any negotiation, thus putting at risk the ongoing negotiations on the future relationship.

The European Parliament supports EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier and Commission Vice-President Maro efovi in asking the UK government to withdraw these measures from the bill immediately; by the end of September, at the very latest. The European Parliaments UK Coordination Group stresses that:

The European Parliament expects the UK government to uphold the rule of law and demands nothing less than the full implementation of all provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, which is essential to protect the Good Friday Agreement and peace and stability on the island of Ireland.

Should the UK authorities breach or threaten to breach the Withdrawal Agreement, through the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill in its current form or in any other way, the European Parliament will, under no circumstances, ratify any agreement between the EU and the UK.

Regarding the outcome of the eighth negotiating round, the European Parliament remains committed to an ambitious partnership with the UK. We are disappointed with the continued lack of reciprocal engagement from the UK side on fundamental EU principles and interests.

The European Parliament calls on the UK to work with the EU constructively and find compromises that are in the interests of our citizens and companies on both sides. Any potential deal should not only preserve our interests, but also respect the integrity of the European Union and its single market.

For any deal to take effect, democratic oversight institutions on both sides of the Channel must be able to carry out a meaningful assessment, as stated in the Withdrawal Agreement. The European Parliament recalls that its consent to any deal will only be granted after detailed scrutiny of the legal provisions. The European Parliament will not accept having its democratic oversight curbed by a last-minute deal beyond the end of October.

Signed by EP group leaders:

Manfred WEBER (EPP, DE)

Iratxe GARCA PEREZ (S&D, ES)

Dacian CIOLO (Renew, RO)

Philippe LAMBERTS (Greens/EFA, BE) co-chair

Ska KELLER (Greens/EFA, DE) co-chair

Raffaele FITTO (ECR, IT) co-chair

Ryszard LEGUTKO (ECR, PL) co-chair

Martin SCHIRDEWAN (GUE, DE) co-chair

Manon AUBRY (GUE, FR) co-chair

and by the UK Coordination Group:

David McALLISTER (EPP, DE), chair

Bernd LANGE (S&D, DE)

Nathalie LOISEAU (Renew, FR)

Christophe HANSEN (EPP, LU)

Kati PIRI (S&D, NL)

Kris PEETERS (EPP, BE)

Pedro SILVA PEREIRA (S&D, PT)

Morten PETERSEN (Renew, DK)

Gunnar BECK (ID, DE)

See the original post:
Statement of the UK Coordination Group and EP political group leaders | News - EU News

ESG For Fund Managers: The EU Framework Regulation / The Taxonomy Regulation – Finance and Banking – European Union – Mondaq News Alerts

This briefing in our ESG series for Irish funds and fundmanagement companies focuses on the European Commission'sproposals to establish a classification system or"taxonomy" to identify whether and to what extent aneconomic activity can be considered to be sustainable.

With the aim of furthering sustainable finance and ESGintegration, the European Commission (the"Commission") introduced a package oflegislative measures in 2018 that includes three key Regulations:the Taxonomy Regulation, the Disclosures Regulation and the LowCarbon and Positive Impacts Benchmarks Regulation.

The aim of the Taxonomy Regulation is to establish an EU-wideclassification system or taxonomy for environmentally sustainableeconomic activities. This classification system is to be used toreduce fragmentation arising from market-based initiatives andnational practices and address practices of"greenwashing" so as to allow investors better compareESG products.

The Taxonomy Regulation was adopted by the Commission on 18 June2020 and entered into force on 12 July 2020 and builds on the workof the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance(TEG) set up by the Commission to assist indeveloping the taxonomy and furthering other EU Action Planinitiatives. These EU-wide standards will form the basis foreconomic and regulatory measures and the eventual creation oflabels to enable capital markets to identify investmentopportunities that contribute to the EU's environmental policyobjectives.

The initial focus of the Taxonomy Regulation is on environmentalobjectives, with social objectives to be considered later.

At a high level, sustainable investment under the TaxonomyRegulation is an investment in an economic activity thatcontributes to an environmental objective as measured by keyresource efficiency indicators provided that such investments donot significantly harm any of those objectives and that theinvestee companies follow good governance practices.

For a product to be properly characterised as environmentallysustainable it should:

Contribute substantially to one of the defined environmentalobjectives;

The six environmental objectives are:

Each objective is explained further in the Taxonomy Regulationand linked to any existing EU law on that area. Further granularitywill be given in technical screening criteria, which will be builtup over time and are to be updated on a regular basis to reflectthe changing nature of the science and technology that underpinthem.

The Taxonomy Regulation also mandates the establishment of a"Platform on Sustainable Finance", which will includerepresentatives of various EU bodies (including the EuropeanEnvironment Agency and the European Supervisory Authorities),environmental experts, and accounting and reporting experts with abroad remit to advise the Commission on the technical screeningcriteria and on the need to update these based on a number ofcriteria, including developing trends and stakeholder requests.

The technical screening criteria, or "taxonomy", forthe first two environmental objectives climate changemitigation and climate change adaptation should beestablished by the end of 2020 in order to ensure its fullapplication by end of 2021. For the four other objectives, thetaxonomy should be established by the end of 2021 for applicationby the end of 2022.

The Taxonomy Regulation recognises that, while some activitiesmay bring a positive output toward the relevant objective, they maybe accompanied by a negative impact and so the taxonomy addressesthe need to measure the combined outcome and identify the minimumrequirements necessary to avoid a significant harm to otherobjectives.

The Taxonomy Regulation applies the principles while adopting aneutral stance in relation to different energy forms. The keyconsideration is whether they are low in greenhouse gas emissionsand the categorisation includes two sub-categories of"transitional" and "enabling" activities.

Transitional activities relate to activities for which there areno technologically and economically feasible low-carbonalternatives, but that support the transition to a climate-neutraleconomy in a manner that is consistent with a pathway to limit thetemperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industriallevels, for example by phasing out greenhouse gas emissions.Enabling activities are those that enable other activities to makea substantial contribution to one or more of the objectives. Therewill be an obligation to disclose for each financial product theproportion invested in enabling and transitional activities.

One of the difficulties for those tasked with the newevaluations and disclosures is getting the relevant informationfrom the underlying investee companies. The Taxonomy Regulationseeks to assist access to that information by placing an obligationon undertakings that are subject to non-financial reportingrequirements to include details of how and to what extent theireconomic activities are associated with environmentally sustainableactivities and large companies will have to report on certainclimate-related KPIs.

The Taxonomy Regulation is mainly relevant to managers that makeavailable a product that has an express sustainability focus('ESG Products'), however, all managers need to takeaccount of it and managers that do not offer ESG Products will atleast need to make a negative disclosure to confirm that theirproduct is out of scope and does not adhere to the taxonomycriteria.

The Taxonomy Regulation incorporates certain concepts from theDisclosures Regulation and amends certain provisions of thatRegulation. It effectively builds on the three tier categorisationof products set out in the Disclosures Regulation:

For asset managers that promote ESG Products there will beadditional disclosure requirements imposed over and above thosealready set out in the Disclosures Regulation.

Article 9 products must make pre-contractual and periodicdisclosures that include information on the environmentalobjectives to which the product contributes and a description ofhow and to what extent the underlying investments qualify asenvironmentally sustainable and the proportion of investments whichare environmentally sustainable.

Article 8 products must make pre-contractual and periodicdisclosures relating to information on the environmentalcharacteristics that the product promotes, a description of how andto what extent the underlying investments qualify asenvironmentally sustainable and the proportion of investments thatare environmentally sustainable together with a prescribeddisclaimer.

All other products must set out a prescribed disclaimer in theirpre-contractual and periodic disclosures that the investments donot take account of the criteria set by the TaxonomyRegulation.

The Taxonomy Regulation also amends the Disclosure Regulation byinserting an obligation for the European Supervisory Authorities todevelop technical standards specifying the details of the "dono significant harm" principle expressed in the DisclosureRegulation. Draft technical standards are to be provided to theCommission by 30 December 2020.

The requirements of the Taxonomy Regulation will apply on astaggered basis. The requirements in relation to climate changeadaption and migration will apply from 1 January 2022 with theother environmental objectives to apply from 1 January 2023.

For more information on the impact of the EU's ESGinitiative on asset managers, see our overview briefing here.

This article contains a general summary of developments andis not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specificlegal advice should be obtained where appropriate.

Read the original here:
ESG For Fund Managers: The EU Framework Regulation / The Taxonomy Regulation - Finance and Banking - European Union - Mondaq News Alerts