The fight against high unemployment and poverty in the European Union, the emphasis on the particularly important role of education, investments in research and in EU infrastructure projects and the demand to retain the 2 pillar system for the Common Agricultural Policy are some of the central requirement of the European Parliament on the future EU budgets from 2014.

The AK welcomes that the Commission has taken up the subject of interest rate restrictions and its intention to ascertain the status quo through the study. Interest rate restrictions represent an important element of consumer protection and debt prevention. Statutory interest rate restrictions as protective regulations are essential in particular for consumers, who are due to financial difficulties in default with (instalment) payments.

The new financial architecture, Economic Governance and ways out of the crisis were the central topics at the Brussels Economic Forum, which the European Commission organised this week. The proposals on Economic Governance, which is to be adopted by June, were very welcomed by most discussion partners.

The logo of the incoming Polish EU Presidency symbolises dynamics, positive energy and solidarity. Poland introduced the logo, the obligatory visual symbol of any EU Presidency, even before taking over the EU Presidency for the first time on 1 July 2011. Poland is part of the fourth Trio Presidency, which will also include the Danish and the Cypriot Council Presidency in 2012. Details of the plans of the Polish EU Presidency were not yet introduced officially.

Right at the top of agenda was the aid package for Portugal. Portugal was granted an amount of 78 billion Euros. The decision was made to divide the aid for Portugal equally between the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The AK welcomes the fact that the Commission as part of the revision of the Insurance Mediation Directive (in short: IMD) is aiming at strengthening consumer protection and we share the opinion of the Commission that need for action exists with regard to conflicts of interests and in particular in respect of commission and cost transparency.

This week, the European Parliament voted on the new EU Transparency Register. Following lengthy negotiations, the European Parliament (EP) and the EU Commission agreed on a joint Transparency Register. It replaces the previous register of lobbyists of the EU Commission. Each organisation and each individual person wishing to make a contribution to EU policy has to register therein. The intention is to make the register available online in June.

On Wednesday, the European Parliament (EP) voted on the report on corporate governance in financial institutions. What is called for is an improvement of corporate governance in financial institutions, such as a more long-term orientation of the institutes or a better supervision. The MEPs approved the report with a large majority.

On Monday, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission organised a conference on the subject of “Strengthening the Foundations of Integrated and Stable Financial Markets”. Apart from representatives of ECB, Banking Supervision and Commission, the liberal MEP and chair of the Economics Committee Sharon Bowles, Mario Draghi, Governor of the Italian Central Bank, Samir Assaf of HSBC, Martin Hellwig, liberal economist at the Max-Planck-Institute and Franco Bassanini, who has set up an Italian Think Tank on state reforms, discussed the latest developments on the financial markets.

This week, Eurostat published the first deficit and debt data of the public sector in the EU27 for 2010. The severe financial and economic crisis is a major factor why the Member States are so far removed from the debt limit of 60 percent determined in the Maastricht criteria: if the average debt of the Member States prior to the start of the severe financial and economic crisis in 2007 was at about 59 percent, in 2010 it had already risen to 80 percent. The debt level in the euro area is even over 85 percent.