The Commission’s work programme sets out the priorities for 2024

The European Commission recently published its work programme for the coming year, WP24. It was presented to the ambassadors of the Member States and will be submitted to the Ministers on 15 November.

The WP24 includes 26 rationalisation proposals aimed at reducing the administrative burden without lowering social, safety, consumer protection, environmental or economic standards. The main objective: to reduce administrative obligations for businesses and enhance competitiveness.

Here is a summary of the implications for the banking and financial sectors covered by WP24!

Capital Markets Union

The Commission would like to see further progress, by approving proposals on insolvency, clearing, simplifying companies’ access to public capital markets and strengthening the long-term investment capacity of insurance companies.

Banking Union

The European executive is focusing on completing the review of crisis management and deposit insurance (CMDI) by next year.

Taxation

The WP24 mentions the need to agree on new rules on withholding tax procedures, as well as on a proposal to prevent the abuse of fictitious entities for tax purposes.

The Commission is also pressing ahead with the proposal to improve business taxation (BEFIT) and transfer pricing.

Digital finance

The Commission calls for progress on the proposals to strengthen the rules on payment services and to introduce a framework for access to financial data (Open Finance/FiDA).

WP24 also mentions the progress of negotiations on the proposal establishing the legal framework for a digital euro. In particular, the day after WP24 was published, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced the start of the next phase of the digital euro project. After a two-year investigation phase into the design and distribution of the digital currency, a six-monthly preparation phase will aim to finalise a regulation and select suppliers to develop the appropriate platform and infrastructure.

The ABBL office in Brussels will continue to monitor the development of all the legislative dossiers mentioned in WP24. ABBL members will soon be able to find monthly updates on the EU agenda on the ABBL website.