NewzIntel.com

Category: AM-NC

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Hong Kong Customs applies “communication right” under Copyright Ordinance for first time to combat case of illegal streaming of live football matches (with photo)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Hong Kong Customs applies “communication right” under Copyright Ordinance for first time to combat case of illegal streaming of live football matches (with photo)
    Hong Kong Customs applies “communication right” under Copyright Ordinance for first time to combat case of illegal streaming of live football matches (with photo)
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         Hong Kong Customs conducted an enforcement operation on September 22 to combat infringement activities that utilise illegal streaming technology to communicate live football matches to the public. During the operation, Customs seized a pay-TV channel television decoder, a suspected illegal streaming computer server, a mobile phone used for a remote server operation and an assortment of electronic equipment and audio-visual devices, with a total estimated market value of about $20,000. This is the first time since the implementation of the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2022 for Customs to apply the “communication right” to combat a case involving illegal streaming devices used for broadcasting live football matches.     Customs earlier received information from a copyright owner alleging that someone had set up a web page to distribute copyright-protected pay-TV channels through streaming technology without the authorisation of the copyright owner. After an in-depth investigation, and with the assistance of the copyright owner, Customs officers took enforcement action during the live broadcast of overseas football matches and made use of computer forensic programmes to conduct real-time monitoring over related suspected illegal activities.      At the same time, Customs officers raided a residential unit in Lok Fu and seized a suspected illegal streaming server and assorted electronic equipment. Officers from the department’s Computer Forensic Laboratory were also summoned to the scene to render support and preserve relevant digital evidence from the streaming server concerned.     During the operation, two men, aged 69 and 43, were arrested. They were released on bail pending further investigation. The investigation is ongoing.     Customs reminds the public not to engage in unauthorised activities involving the dissemination of copyrighted works. Members of public should also respect intellectual property rights and refrain from watching infringing movie/TV works or pay-TV channels through any form of illegal streaming. Applications or streaming links related to illegal streaming may contain computer viruses or malicious programmes which can pose potential risks to users.     According to the Copyright Ordinance, it is illegal for anyone, without the authorisation of the copyright owner, to engage in any trade or business that involves communicating works to the public for profit or reward, or in the course of such trade or business, to communicate copyrighted works to the public; or to communicate copyrighted works to the public to an extent that damages the rights of the copyright owner. Upon conviction, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for four years and a fine of $50,000 for each copyrighted work.     Members of the public may report any suspected infringement activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

     
    Ends/Tuesday, September 24, 2024Issued at HKT 17:40

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Speech by CE at BritCham Hong Kong Summit 2024 (English only)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Speech by CE at BritCham Hong Kong Summit 2024 (English only)
    Speech by CE at BritCham Hong Kong Summit 2024 (English only)
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         Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at Britcham Hong Kong Summit 2024 today (September 24): Mr Jeremy Sheldon (Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong), Mr Paul McComb (Executive Director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong), Deputy Consul-General Sarah Robinson (Deputy Consul-General of the United Kingdom to Hong Kong), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,      Good afternoon to you all. I am delighted to be here, today, for the fourth annual BritCham Hong Kong Summit. And what a day it’s been, with Commissioner Cui Jianchun opening the Summit and five smartly considered panel discussions, each centred on Hong Kong opportunity – long-term, far-reaching opportunities powered by innovation, sustainability, and more.           Panel One’s theme certainly caught my attention, with its focus, and I quote, “Business Leaders Perspective on Hong Kong as a Global Powerhouse City”.           Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Hong Kong indeed endeavours to become a global powerhouse city. With its energy, entrepreneurship and connectivity.           More than an ambition, it is a goal and collective commitment that the Hong Kong SAR Government is working, tirelessly, to realise.           With welcome assistance, let me add, from organisations such as the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, and its membership of some 1 000 professionals from about 350 companies. Each and every one of you as committed as us in building a flourishing future for all, right here in Hong Kong.           At last count, over 640 UK companies call Hong Kong home. And it’s reassuring to tell you that Hong Kong and UK companies like to do business together. Last year, our bilateral merchandise trade was up a whopping 19 per cent, year on year, and reached nearly HK$130 billion.           Yes, Hong Kong has all along been a key export market for the UK. In the decade between 2014 and 2023, the value of UK exports to Hong Kong grew nearly 100 per cent, to GBP15.7 billion.           Our trade in services are just as vibrant. In 2022, the UK was Hong Kong’s third-largest services trading partner.           And, of course, we like to invest in each other’s economies and companies. In 2021, Hong Kong was the sixth-most popular destination for foreign direct investment from the UK, with a total value of GBP77.6 billion. That accounted for 4.4 per cent of the UK’s total outward FDI stock. Hong Kong, in 2021, was the second-largest Asian investor in the UK, with FDI stock worth GBP16.3 billion.           Hong Kong’s selling card, our great and enduring strength over the years, is our openness to trade and business, our eagerness to connect – with the UK and a world of companies and economies.           “One country, two systems” makes it happen. This unique principle allows Hong Kong to enjoy the wealth of opportunities our country presents, while taking full advantage of our dominant role as the multilevel bridge between the Mainland and the rest of the world.           It ensures that Hong Kong’s robust rule of law, as well as our continuous practice of the common law system, one that resembles that of the UK and many major global financial centres. It also helps to maintain our simple and low tax regime, world-class infrastructure, and international connectivity.           That’s probably why in the latest World Competitiveness Yearbook, published by the International Institute for Management Development, Hong Kong ranked fifth globally. We came first in the world in “international trade” and “business legislation”, and was also among the global top five in “tax policy”, “international investment”, “basic infrastructure”, “finance” and “education”.           As a global powerhouse city, Hong Kong will never stop expanding its business and trade networks. These include our well-established partners among developed economies, as well as new and budding ones.           The 10 Member States of ASEAN – the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – is one of our pre-eminent partners. For more than a decade now, ASEAN has been our second-largest merchandise trade entity. Investment between us is also buoyant. Indeed, Hong Kong is ASEAN’s fourth-largest source of inward direct investment.           It helps, of course, that the free trade agreement and investment agreement between us has been in full force now for three years.           It helps, too, that I have been to seven ASEAN countries since I assumed office just over two years ago. My latest visit, in July, to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, resulted in 55 MOUs and related agreements. They will expand our co-operation in trade and investment, as well as finance, technology, logistics and a good many other areas, too.           Our ties with the Middle East have also burgeoned following my visit to the region in February last year.           This past week, Saudi Arabia gave its approval for the first exchange-traded fund, or ETF, investing in Hong Kong equities to be listed on its stock exchange. That’s an encouraging development for investors, too.           Last November, HKEX, and investors, welcomed the listing of Asia-Pacific’s first ETF to track Saudi Arabian equities, allowing local and global investors to invest in the Saudi stock market through Hong Kong. This mutually rewarding co-operation is a boost for Hong Kong’s ETF market and the global connectivity of our financial services sector.           We look, too, to other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area for connectivity, for long-term opportunity powered by innovation and technology. I’m sure you’ve heard as much at the panel discussion just now.           The Greater Bay Area, as you will be well aware, brings together Hong Kong, Macao and nine cities in Guangdong province. It counts a population of over 86 million people. Its GDP amounted to nearly US$2 trillion last year, rivalling the world’s 10th largest economy.           More than an enormous consumer market, the Greater Bay Area is fast becoming an innovation and technology hub. This year’s Global Innovation Index ranked the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster second in the world, for the fifth year in a row.           That only underlines the huge potential for I&T development in the Greater Bay Area – and in Hong Kong, China’s most international city as you all know. Hong Kong is the only Asian city that has as many as five universities in the world’s top 100, and boast world-class capabilities in research, a robust intellectual property rights protection system, and an established international business environment. Hong Kong has what it takes to play a pivotal role in the region’s rise as an I&T hub.           The Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Lok Ma Chau Loop, situated right next to our boundary with Shenzhen, is central to that future. This Hong Kong Park, of 87 hectares in area, together with a 300-hectare Shenzhen Park, will form the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone. It straddles our geographical boundary with the Mainland and will propel the region’s I&T growth.           The Hong Kong Park’s first three buildings, I’m pleased to say, are expected to complete, gradually, from the end of this year.           The Park’s first phase, a total floor area of up to one million square metres, will focus on a number of I&T areas, including life and health technology, AI, advanced manufacturing and industry, academic and research sectors.           That, of course, will demand technology specialists. A continuing flow of strategic talent of every kind, at every level.           We’re working on that, too. And, according to the International Institute for M
    anagement Development and its 2024 World Talent Ranking, we’re well on our way.           In the latest World Talent Ranking, published just last week, Hong Kong’s ranking rose to ninth, overall – up considerably from 16th last year. That’s also the first time we were back to the ranking’s top 10 since 2016.           And I’m delighted to say that Hong Kong topped the ranking in the percentage of graduates in sciences.           We’re making notable progress, too, in enticing talent to turn to Hong Kong for their future.           As at the end of last month, we have received more than 360 000 applications under our various enhanced talent admission programmes, launched in the end of 2022. Nearly 230 000 applications have been approved, and more than 150 000 professionals have already arrived in Hong Kong, many with their families.           The schemes are popular among our friends from the UK, I’m glad to add. Some 4 100 of these approved applicants are UK nationals. That’s a blessing. For our new Top Talent Pass Scheme, which targets graduates from the world’s best universities and high-income earners, about 7 per cent of the admitted top graduates are from British universities.           And our Working Holiday Scheme with the UK, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, has also strengthened our youth ties. At last count, nearly 11 000 young people from Hong Kong and the UK have been granted visas to work, while holidaying, in each other’s places over the past decade.           More than our people-to-people bond, the young and talented professionals joining Hong Kong will boost our labour force. Good news for the economy. For business. For you as well.           Getting, and keeping, talent is, of course, a work in progress, as is the Hong Kong economy. I’ll have more to say on that, and much more, next month, in my annual Policy Address.           And my thanks to BritCham for its Policy Address submission, which I received in early August. I am grateful for your considered thoughts on how Hong Kong can boost its standing as an international trade and finance centre, how we can build our technology and innovation capabilities, take our place as an international talent hub and a good deal more.           I look forward to your continuing co-operation – the excellent work your Chamber is doing for our economy and our community.           On our community, I understand a cheering section from the Chamber will be in London for the upcoming Hong Kong Dinner. This annual gathering is one of the many deep-rooted traditions that have long defined, and distinguished, the abiding ties between our two economies and peoples.           Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you the best of business, health and happiness in the coming year. And, for those of you flying off to London this week, I wish you a memorable Hong Kong Dinner, brimful of the good stories of Hong Kong, a global powerhouse city.           Thank you.

     
    Ends/Tuesday, September 24, 2024Issued at HKT 17:36

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: New White Paper on Experience Monetization with Intelligent Core Network

    Source: Huawei

    Headline: New White Paper on Experience Monetization with Intelligent Core Network

    [Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, September 10, 2024] GlobalData, a renowned consulting firm, has just released a thought-provoking white paper titled Intelligent Core Network: Starting a New Chapter in Experience Monetization, in collaboration with Huawei and a global coalition of leading operators including AIS in Thailand, Cell C in South Africa, China Mobile, du in the UAE, the e& group, and Turkcell in Türkiye. This insightful report sheds light on the challenges operators face under traditional traffic monetization models and makes a compelling case for harnessing intelligence technologies to deliver tailored experiences that cater to users’ diverse needs. It can be used as a roadmap for transforming operators’ business models from traffic-based to experience-driven, so as to unlock new avenues for growth.
    White paper release ceremony

    The widespread adoption of traditional traffic-based operation models has led to a homogenization of services, making it harder than ever for operators to stand out in a crowded market. The rise of OTT players has further intensified competition, leading to declining revenue growth for operators and a pressing need for new growth opportunities. However, as mobile networks continue to evolve at a tremendous rate, traditional network architectures are unable to keep up with the diversification of users’ service requirements. This is where the concept of experience monetization comes in. It is a game-changing idea that enables operators to transform their business models and unlock new revenue streams. By providing personalized and differentiated services, operators can take advantage of their network capabilities to meet users’ diverse needs while also offering tailored pricing models. This innovative approach not only elevates the user experience but also creates new opportunities for revenue growth.
    Conventional network operations are often hindered by four key breakpoints: unclear target users and services, inaccurate and untimely experience perception, slow and imprecise strategy optimization, and lack of user awareness of experience assurance. Experience monetization offers a solution to these challenges by leveraging intelligence technologies and the Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) to facilitate data analysis and intelligent decision-making. By combining these capabilities, operators can achieve closed-loop management of service awareness, experience optimization, and operations, ultimately leading to better user experiences and improved business outcomes.
    Today, forward-thinking operators are actively exploring new experience monetization models to boost their bottom line and stay ahead of the competition. Delving into the best practices of multiple operators in China, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East, the white paper highlights the success of differentiated experience payment models in areas such as video, live streaming, and gaming. These innovative approaches have yielded significant returns. Yet while the industry is witnessing a growing trend in experience monetization, there remains substantial market potential waiting to be tapped.
    The release of this white paper provides operators with a roadmap for better navigating the intelligent era and driving their growth forward.
    The white paper is available at: https://www.verdict.co.uk/downloads/whitepapers/data/intelligent-5g-core-starting-a-new-chapter-in-experience-monetization/#globaldata-technology

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: New White Paper on Experience Monetization with Intelligent Core Network Sep 24, 2024

    Source: Huawei

    Headline: New White Paper on Experience Monetization with Intelligent Core Network
    Sep 24, 2024

    [Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, September 10, 2024] GlobalData, a renowned consulting firm, has just released a thought-provoking white paper titled Intelligent Core Network: Starting a New Chapter in Experience Monetization, in collaboration with Huawei and a global coalition of leading operators including AIS in Thailand, Cell C in South Africa, China Mobile, du in the UAE, the e& group, and Turkcell in Türkiye. This insightful report sheds light on the challenges operators face under traditional traffic monetization models and makes a compelling case for harnessing intelligence technologies to deliver tailored experiences that cater to users’ diverse needs. It can be used as a roadmap for transforming operators’ business models from traffic-based to experience-driven, so as to unlock new avenues for growth.
    White paper release ceremony

    The widespread adoption of traditional traffic-based operation models has led to a homogenization of services, making it harder than ever for operators to stand out in a crowded market. The rise of OTT players has further intensified competition, leading to declining revenue growth for operators and a pressing need for new growth opportunities. However, as mobile networks continue to evolve at a tremendous rate, traditional network architectures are unable to keep up with the diversification of users’ service requirements. This is where the concept of experience monetization comes in. It is a game-changing idea that enables operators to transform their business models and unlock new revenue streams. By providing personalized and differentiated services, operators can take advantage of their network capabilities to meet users’ diverse needs while also offering tailored pricing models. This innovative approach not only elevates the user experience but also creates new opportunities for revenue growth.
    Conventional network operations are often hindered by four key breakpoints: unclear target users and services, inaccurate and untimely experience perception, slow and imprecise strategy optimization, and lack of user awareness of experience assurance. Experience monetization offers a solution to these challenges by leveraging intelligence technologies and the Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) to facilitate data analysis and intelligent decision-making. By combining these capabilities, operators can achieve closed-loop management of service awareness, experience optimization, and operations, ultimately leading to better user experiences and improved business outcomes.
    Today, forward-thinking operators are actively exploring new experience monetization models to boost their bottom line and stay ahead of the competition. Delving into the best practices of multiple operators in China, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East, the white paper highlights the success of differentiated experience payment models in areas such as video, live streaming, and gaming. These innovative approaches have yielded significant returns. Yet while the industry is witnessing a growing trend in experience monetization, there remains substantial market potential waiting to be tapped.
    The release of this white paper provides operators with a roadmap for better navigating the intelligent era and driving their growth forward.
    The white paper is available at: https://www.verdict.co.uk/downloads/whitepapers/data/intelligent-5g-core-starting-a-new-chapter-in-experience-monetization/#globaldata-technology

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: BSTDB Builds Up Partnership with OCN Microinvest S.R.L. to Boost Moldova’s Real Economy and Green Financing

    Source: Black Sea Trade and Development Bank

    Press Release | 24-Sep-2024

    New Credit Line to Support Small Businesses and Green Projects

    To bolster economic activity and promote green financing in Moldova, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) has announced a new partnership with OCN Microinvest S.R.L., the leading microfinance company in the country. Under this partnership, BSTDB will provide a credit line of up to EUR 10 million, aimed at enhancing financial access for small businesses and supporting the real economy in Moldova.

    OCN Microinvest S.R.L. will on-lend the funds offered by BSTDB to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to support their activities and growth. A portion of these funds will be specifically allocated for green financing initiatives, including energy and resource efficiency, green energy and low-carbon technologies.

    Signing the loan agreement, Dr. Serhat Köksal, BSTDB President, said: “Developing strategic partnerships with leading financial institutions in our member countries is crucial for fulfilling our mandate, particularly when direct outreach to end users is not feasible. Access to finance for micro, small, and medium enterprises is vital for sustainable and inclusive growth in Moldova. In alignment with our Climate Strategy, we are pleased to see that a portion of our loan will be dedicated to financing green activities, thereby contributing effectively to the decarbonization of the Moldovan economy.”

    Dumitru Svinarenco, CEO of OCN Microinvest SRL: “This new partnership with the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank is a testament to our shared commitment to fostering Moldova’s economic resilience and environmental sustainability. The EUR 10 million credit line will provide a much-needed boost to the country’s MSMEs, helping them to scale and adapt in a challenging economic landscape. Moreover, the focus on green financing aligns perfectly with Microinvest’s strategy to encourage more businesses to embrace energy efficiency and sustainable practices. We are proud to be working with BSTDB to support not only the growth of small businesses but also the broader transition to a greener economy in Moldova.”

    O.C.N. Microinvest S.R.L.  was established in 2003 as a microfinance limited liability company in Moldova. The company has a solid shareholding structure, comprising reputable foreign and local non-profit and developmental financial institutions. The company’s activity focuses on lending to individuals and micro, small and medium size enterprises.

    The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Türkiye, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the Bank is EUR 3.45 billion. For information on BSTDB, visit www.bstdb.org.

    Contact: Haroula Christodoulou

    Phone: +30 2310 290533

    : @BSTDB

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Video: World Bank’s Fund for Low-Income Countries – Press Conference | United Nations

    Source: United Nations (Video News)

    The Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, and World Bank Group President Ajay Banga briefed reporters today (23 Sep) on the Denmark’s support for the World Bank’s Fund for Low-Income Countries.

    Prime Minister Frederiksen previously announced at the United Nations’ Summit of the Future, that Denmark has pledged approximately $491.7 million to the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries, making it a 40 per cent increase over the country’s previous contribution.

    Speaking to journalists, Frederiksen reiterated Denmark’s commitment, stating, “you can count on Denmark, both when it comes to the concrete and necessary tasks, but also in supporting the reforms. And I think it’s not only necessary for the countries who are in need of it, but it’s also necessary if we want to stick together as one world.”

    World Bank President Ajay Banga echoed the need for action. He said, “we can, frankly, we must, help to chart a course towards that brighter future,” emphasizing that the starting point lies in supporting initiatives like the International Development Association and leveraging the World Bank’s knowledge.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6YVT_R7vXU

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Stopping global trend of violence “is in our hands” – Youth Rep. at Summit of the Future

    Source: United Nations (Video News)

    Ghanim Mohammed Al Muftah, United Nations youth representative from Qatar and a political science graduate, said that the decisions made today are not just about policies and strategies. They are about shaping a world where all children can thrive in an inclusive, safe and sustainable future.

    “As a person with disability, I have learned that true progress comes not from overcoming personal challenges alone, but from how we, as a society, embrace each other’s differences,” he said.

    Sadly, there is no choice for children where wars and conflicts cause unnecessary injuries and life-long disabilities. It is in our hands to stop this global trend of violence, in Gaza and around the world.

    “The future belongs to our youth and we must ensure that they are prepared to take on leadership roles,” he said.

    ————————–

    The Summit of the Future (22-23 September 2024) is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments including to the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Charter, and move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people’s lives.

    The Summit of the Future is a high-level event, bringing world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future.

    Effective global cooperation is increasingly critical to our survival but difficult to achieve in an atmosphere of mistrust, using outdated structures that no longer reflect today’s political and economic realities.

    World leaders will convene at the United Nations to adopt the Pact for the Future, which will include a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations as annexes.

    Screenshot Credit:
    UN Photo/Loey Felipe

    Website: https://www.un.org/en/summit-of-the-future

    Programme: https://www.un.org/en/summit-of-the-future/programme

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kILXK5QSNC8

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Video: #UNGA 79 Backstage Series: Protocol and Liaison Service | United Nations

    Source: United Nations (Video News)

    Come behind the scenes with the Protocol and Liaison Service to witness the amount of meticulous planning and coordination leading up to High Level events at the United Nations. Watch daily this week to see behind the scenes of the UNGA79. The Protocol and Liaison Service within the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM) serves the protocol needs of the Secretariat, including those of the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly. It also interfaces with the Permanent Missions and Observer Offices to the United Nations as well as with the liaison offices of the specialised agencies and related organizations stationed in New York. The Service applies an orderly, uniform set of rules and governing codes of behaviour in diplomatic forums, meetings and ceremonies involving missions/observers and their representatives.
    General debate website: gadebate.un.org

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuzbX7ZMfHQ

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Video: What is UNGA all about?

    Source: European Commission (video statements)

    United
    Nations
    General
    Assembly

    The 79th edition of UNGA is taking place until the end of this week. This is when world leaders gather in New York to address challenges that no country can handle alone.

    Why does the EU take part, and what’s UNGA all about? We’ve got all the answers – explained in under a minute!

    #UNGA

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbmvGsudK4o

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Latest news – Next meeting – Committee on Fisheries

    Source: European Parliament

    The next PECH meeting will take place on Monday 30 September 2024 from 15:00 to 18:30 in Brussels.

    Source : © European Union, 2024 – EP

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Mandatory Disclosure Regime (MDR) in the light of rulings from the CJEU and EU Member State courts – E-001469/2024(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    The Council already amended the Council Directive (EU) 2018/822[1] (DAC6) provisions concerned in Directive 2011/16/EU in October 2023[2] to address the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Case C-694/20.

    In its latest judgment of 29 July 2024, the Court of Justice confirmed the validity of DAC6 (see C-623/22)[3] in light of the principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination, as well as Articles 20 and 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

    The Commission is also evaluating DAC6 as part of the broader evaluation process of Directive 2011/16/EU[4]. The public consultation was open until 31 July 2024.

    The European Court of Auditors has also started an audit covering DAC6 which should be finalised before 2025. The responses and further analysis on the functioning of the DAC framework will be assessed.

    • [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2018/822/oj
    • [2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/2226/oj
    • [3] Judgment of 29 July 2024 in Case C-623/22, Belgian Association of Tax Lawyers and Others: https://curia.europa.eu/juris/documents.jsf?num=C-623/22
    • [4] http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2011/16/2024-01-01
    Last updated: 24 September 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Lifting the ban on electric pulse fishing in the light of new scientific findings – P-001786/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Priority question for written answer  P-001786/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Ton Diepeveen (PfE)

    The European Parliament decided in 2019 to ban electric pulse fishing. A number of scientific studies published since then show that that fishing technique is more sustainable than traditional methods such as beam trawling. For instance, electric pulse fishing reduces impact on seabed life, considerably lowers fishing vessels’ fuel consumption and results in less bycatch.

    Studies by Wageningen Marine Research in 2020 and the ICES Working Group on Electrical Trawling (WGELECTRA) in 2024.

    ICES Scientific Reports. 2024. Working Group on Electrical Trawling (WGELECTRA; outputs from 2023 meeting). Volume 6 | Issue 67 (p. Vii-viii) show that electric pulse fishing causes considerably less environmental harm than traditional fishing methods.

    Wageningen University & Research. 2020. The Implications of a Transition from Tickler Chain to Pulse Trawling (p. 10-11).

    In this connection:

    • 1.Is the Commission aware of the content of the scientific studies cited in the introduction? If not, why not?
    • 2.Does the Commission agree with the main conclusions of both reports, including the fact that electric pulse fishing reduces impact on seabed life, lowers fuel consumption and results in less by-catch? If not, why not?
    • 3.Why has the Commission not yet lifted the ban on electric pulse fishing?

    Submitted: 23.9.2024

    Last updated: 24 September 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Ministerial Discussion on the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel

    Source: Switzerland – Department of Foreign Affairs in English

    New York, 23.09.2024 – Address by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) – Check against delivery

    Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

    This ministerial discussion occurs amid a concerning global backdrop, with over 120 armed conflicts ongoing worldwide.

    As a result, millions of people require humanitarian aid and protection, while humanitarian and UN personnel face growing threats, often becoming targets of attacks.

    Switzerland is alarmed by the rising violence against humanitarian workers, which is sometimes deliberately directed at them.

    A concrete step was taken in May: my country introduced Security Council resolution 2730 on the protection of humanitarian and UN personnel, addressing this alarming trend. The resolution was adopted with the support of 98 UN Member States. I extend my thanks to all these States, especially Brazil for its initial work on the resolution.

    This resolution is crucial for three reasons:

    1. It reaffirms the obligations of States and parties in armed conflicts to respect and protect humanitarian and UN personnel, including national and local staff.

    2. It condemns attacks on these personnel and urges States to ensure accountability for related violations.

    3. It mandates the Secretary-General to submit recommendations to the Security Council within six months to prevent and address such attacks and combat impunity.

    These recommendations focus on concrete actions. They are currently being prepared, and we look forward to receiving them in November.

    Excellencies

    Humanitarian personnel are a lifeline for millions of civilians worldwide, risking their lives daily to assist and protect those affected by armed conflict.

    We must safeguard their ability to carry out this vital work and reaffirm our commitment to their protection.

    With so many conflicts raging and civilians suffering so much, we must step up our efforts to ensure respect for international humanitarian law and strengthen the political will to build a more humane world.

    Thank you.

    Address for enquiries

    FDFA Communication
    Federal Palace West Wing
    CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
    Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55
    E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
    Twitter: @SwissMFA

    Publisher

    Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
    https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Seed capital and (more) customers for Empa spin-off: Solar cells for the Internet of Things

    Source: Switzerland – Federal Administration in English

    Dübendorf, St. Gallen und Thun, 24.09.2024 – Perovskia Solar has won more than ten leading companies from the Internet of Things (IoT) industry as customers and received over two million Swiss francs in seed capital. The multi-award-winning Empa spin-off prints customized solar cells for almost any electronic device. These can be produced cost-effectively – and even work indoors.

    Every person owns an average of seven electronic devices. Hence there are several billion devices in use worldwide – and with the Internet of Things (IoT), the number is growing all the time. These need to be charged regularly, or their batteries need to be replaced. The Empa spin-off Perovskia Solar has therefore specialized in custom-made solar cells for all conceivable electronic devices – and successfully so: It has acquired more than ten leading companies from the Internet of Things (IoT) industry as new customers and has now received over two million Swiss francs from an international coalition of business angels and early-stage funds. “Energy harvesting for IoT devices is a rapidly growing market with a potential of several billion dollars,” said Anand Verma, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Empa spin-off. “Our easy-to-integrate designer solar cells either eliminate the need for batteries or extend their lifespan, opening up the possibility of powering any device with solar energy.”

    Solar cells from the printer

    The multi-award-winning Empa spin-off has launched the first perovskite solar cells on the market that can be used in smartwatches, keyboards and the like. Conventional silicon solar cells are complex and expensive to produce on a customized basis and are inefficient in poor lighting conditions. “We can print innovative perovskite solar cells in any size – and at low cost. With their high efficiency, they can power almost any indoor electronic device in bright home and office lighting,” says Verma.

    “Our energy harvesting technology has been developed over several years at Empa, which has enabled us to launch a market-ready product that powers next-generation devices for industrial and residential applications,” adds Tobias Meyer, founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Perovskia. Perovskites have excellent properties: They absorb light particularly efficiently and conduct the generated electricity well. Until now, however, perovskite-based solar cells were not stable enough and not durable enough for large-scale use. Anand Verma therefore spent five years at Empa researching printing processes for perovskite solar cells before setting up the company in 2020.

    A new factory and international support

    Perovskia Solar now supplies several international companies with customized solar cells for IoT applications and for consumer electronics devices. The Empa spin-off is now supported by Kickfund from Venture Kick and the venture capital company D&FG Elements as well as an international coalition of business angels led by Nils Hagander and Beda Rohner. “With a market-leading product, Perovskia is ideally positioned to drive the next generation of IoT devices for consumers and industry,” says Hagander, entrepreneur and investor in technology and service companies.

    The Empa spin-off recently set up a factory in Aubonne in the canton of Vaud. One million perovskite elements are to be printed there every year.

    Address for enquiries

    Manuel Martin
    Communications
    Phone +41 58 765 4454
    redaktion@empa.ch

    Publisher

    Federal Laboratory for Materials Testing and Research
    http://www.empa.ch

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: France: EIB and European Commission provide €276 million in support for Métropole Européenne de Lille’s investments in sustainable mobility

    Source: European Investment Bank

    • Métropole Européenne de Lille is receiving a €245 million green loan from the EIB to back its modernisation and urban transport projects.
    • This financing comes together with a €31.5 million grant from the European Commission via the public sector loan facility (PSLF) set up under the European Green Deal’s Just Transition Mechanism (JTM).
    • This joint blended financing support from the EIB and European Commission will unlock additional investment for public entities in the European regions most affected by the energy transition.

    Métropole Européenne de Lille (Lille metropolitan authority) has taken out a €245 million green loan with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to fund its public transport network and cycle routes. It aims to provide 1.2 million local residents with more efficient, affordable and environmentally friendly transport services.

    This project is also benefiting from a €31.5 million European Commission grant under a blended financing structure made possible by the public sector loan facility (PSLF), which is one of the key pillars of the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) set up under the European Green Deal. The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) will manage this grant and monitor the implementation of the project.

    The Mel in Green Mobility project will provide funding for various segments of Métropole Européenne de Lille’s public transport infrastructure. The first part of the project covers the modernisation of the public transport fleet, including the renewal of 30 trams and 42 buses with new clean vehicles. It also features investments in platforms, depots and other related facilities. Lastly, the project supports the Métropole’s ambitious cycling plan including 220 km of additional infrastructure between 2023 and 2027 to improve safety for cyclists, the financing of a new bus rapid transit line, and the construction of a multimodal interchange hub.

    It thereby aims to accelerate changes in user behaviour by developing a more efficient and sustainable mobility service, improving public transport accessibility and broadening soft mobility options. Once complete, the project will have improved tram and bus network performance, promoted intermodality (reduction in the share of private vehicles from 56% in 2023 to 40% in 2035) and diversified public transport in the area. This increased network efficiency will ultimately result in substantial time savings on the 410 000 daily journeys made by users, fewer traffic jams and better access to the Métropole Européenne de Lille.

    The regions most affected by the energy transition (like Hauts-de-France) are identified in the territorial just transition plans. These plans are drawn up by each EU Member State and outline the challenges to be addressed in each just transition region, together with the development needs and targets to be reached by 2030.

    Background information

    About the EIB

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its 27 Member States. It provides loans to the public and private sectors for sound investment contributing to EU policy goals. In 2023, France received more EIB financing for the energy and green transition than any other country, with an overall investment of €6.9 billion for renewable energy, clean mobility and energy efficiency. A partner of regional authorities, last year the EIB directed €2.3 billion in funding to rail and urban public transport and soft mobility, making it the number one sector in terms of EIB investment in France over the year.

    About the European Commission’s Just Transition Mechanism

    The public sector loan facility (PSLF) is the third pillar of the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) – a key tool of the European Green Deal investment plan to make sure that no one and no region is left behind in the transition to a climate-neutral economy.

    The public sector loan facility combines loans from the EIB (up to around €6 billion to €8 billion overall) and grants from the European Commission (up to €1.3 billion overall). The combined support is designed to mobilise additional investment for public sector entities in the European regions most affected by the climate and energy transition (like Hauts-de-France), as identified in the national territorial just transition plans, to meet their development needs as part of the transition to a climate-neutral economy. These plans are developed by each EU Member State and set out the challenges in each just transition region, along with the development needs and objectives to be met by 2030.

    The blend of the EIB loan and the European Commission grant will facilitate the financing of projects that do not generate sufficient revenue streams to cover their investment costs. The implementation of the public sector loan facility is managed by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA).

    About Métropole Européenne de Lille

    Métropole Européenne de Lille works every day to serve its 95 member municipalities and 1.2 million residents. It covers the key areas of transport, housing, economy, public space and roadways, urban planning, urban policy, water, wastewater, household waste, disability access, nature and living environment, sport, tourism and crematoria. Chaired by Damien Castelain since 18 April 2014, the Metropolitan Council is composed of 184 members elected by direct universal suffrage for a six-year mandate.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Web tracking report: who monitored users’ online activities in 2023–2024 the most

    Source: Securelist – Kaspersky

    Headline: Web tracking report: who monitored users’ online activities in 2023–2024 the most

    Web tracking has become a pervasive aspect of our online experience. Whether we’re browsing social media, playing video games, shopping for products, or simply reading news articles, trackers are silently monitoring our online behavior, fueling the ceaseless hum of countless data centers worldwide. In this article, we’re going to explore various types of web trackers and present a detailed annual report that dissects their geographical distribution and organizational affiliations.

    What is web tracking?

    Web tracking is the practice of collecting, storing, and analyzing data about users’ online behavior. This data can include demographics, website visits, time spent on sites, and interactions like clicks, scrolls, and mouse pointer hovers that can be leveraged for creating heatmaps, etc. The primary goal of web tracking is to gain valuable insights into user behavior, preferences, and interests. This information allows businesses to personalize experiences, improve user engagement, target advertising more efficiently, and measure the performance of their online services.

    Types of web tracking

    Web tracking can be classified into several categories based on the methods and technologies employed:

    Cookies

    Cookies are small text files that websites place on a user’s device to store information about their visits, such as login credentials, preferences, and tracking identifiers. Despite a commendable commitment to enhance online privacy, primarily Google’s Privacy Sandbox project, Kaspersky experts anticipate that third-party cookies will persist for long time yet. In fact, even as we were processing the data to write this report, Antonio Chavez, Vice President of Privacy Sandbox, announced an intention to reconsider the plan of third-party cookies deprecation.

    Web beacons

    Also known as web bugs or tracking pixels, web beacons are transparent images — typically lines or 1×1 pixels — that send a lot of tracking data, usually via a query string. When a user accesses the content, the web beacon sends data back to the server. This allows businesses to track user interactions without requiring additional action from the user.

    Social media tracking

    Many websites embed social media buttons that help users to share content easily. However, these innocuous buttons often come with tracking capabilities. Even if the user does not engage with the social media site directly, these platforms still collect data on their online behavior.

    Web analytics

    Services like Google Analytics offer a deep dive into user engagement on websites. These tools track a wide range of metrics, from page views and bounce rates to conversion rates, empowering businesses to understand user behavior and optimize website performance.

    Fingerprinting

    Device fingerprinting is a tracking technique that identifies users by collecting unique information about their device and browser settings. This includes details like screen resolution, operating system, installed plugins, and browser language. This creates a unique “fingerprint” that can identify the user across different websites, even without cookies.

    Statistics collection principles

    For this report, we used anonymous statistics collected from July 2023 to June 2024 inclusive, by the Do Not Track (DNT) component, which prevents the loading of tracking elements that track user actions on websites. The statistics consist of anonymized data provided by users voluntarily.

    Even the most experienced users often make the mistake to confuse DNT features with the built-in “incognito mode” offered by all leading web browsers. Incognito mode only ensures that all your data like browsing history and cookies is cleared after you close the private window. However, it does not prevent websites from tracking your activities within that session. It also does not make you anonymous to your internet service provider (ISP) or protect you from adware or spyware that might be tracking your online behavior, cryptominers, or worse.

    Over the year, the DNT component was triggered 38,725,551,855 times. We have compiled a list of 25 tracking services that DNT detected most frequently across nine regions and certain individual countries. 100% represents the total number of DNT detections triggered by all 25 tracking services.

    The DNT component is included in all Kaspersky security solutions and is disabled by default.

    Global tracker giants

    Eight tracking systems appeared in almost all of the TOP 25 lists for the regions we studied. Four of these belong to Google. Besides these, we will look at two other tracking systems which were also widely represented across almost all regions: New Relic and Microsoft.

    In addition, two other systems – Criteo and Facebook Custom Audiences – also made it into the TOP 25 for all regions, but we’ve already covered them in previous articles.

    Google

    Google has several tracking systems responsible for various but often overlapping areas of marketing, advertising, and other fields involving the collection, analysis, and interpretation of user data.

    Google Display & Video 360 is a tool for managing advertising campaigns. Its trackers monitor advertising-related activities (clicks, technical metrics of ads, and so on). This system had the largest share among the TOP 25 tracking systems in Asia. In South Asia, it accounted for 25.47% of DNT component triggers, and in East Asia – 24.45%. The smallest share of this tracking system was in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) – just 8.38%, as this region features a strong presence of local tracking systems, which we will discuss later.

    The share of DNT triggers for Google Display & Video 360 trackers in each region, July 2021 — June 2022, and July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    Compared to our previous report, covering the period from August 2021 to August 2022, the presence of Google Display & Video 360 slightly increased in East Asia and the CIS, while it decreased in other regions.

    The second frequently encountered tracking system is Google Analytics. This system analyzes user behavior and tracks keywords to enhance website traffic and efficiency. Its largest share is in Latin America – 14.89%, followed by the Middle East at 14.12%. The lowest share of these trackers in our statistics is in North America – 8.42%.

    The share of DNT triggers for Google Analytics trackers in each region, July 2021 — June 2022, and July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    Just like the previous system, Google Analytics slightly increased its share in East Asia (up to 13.83%) and the CIS (9.36%), while decreasing in other regions.

    Trackers from Google AdSense, like Google Display & Video 360, monitor advertising activity and provide reports to website owners. This tracking system has its largest share in the Middle East (6.91%) and South Asia (6.85%). The smallest shares are in Oceania (3.76%) and the CIS (2.30%).

    The share of DNT triggers for Google AdSense trackers in each region, July 2021 — June 2022, and July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    In almost all regions, the share for this tracking system increased. It’s worth noting that while some of these tracking systems reduced their presence in certain regions and others increased, they all belong to the same company – Google. Thus, user tracking by Google remains extensive, far exceeding other companies.

    Another significant Google tracking system is YouTube Analytics. It gathers information about video views and audience engagement, measures engagement levels, and more. YouTube Analytics holds the largest share in South Asia (12.71%) and the Middle East (12.30%), and the smallest in Europe (5.65%) and North America (4.56%).

    The share of DNT triggers for YouTube Analytics trackers in each region, July 2021 — June 2022, and July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    Compared to other Google tracking systems, YouTube Analytics has notably increased its share in all regions.

    New Relic

    The share of DNT triggers for New Relic trackers in each region, July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    The San Francisco-based New Relic appeared for the first time in our list of global giants present in all regions. Its activity is focused on web tracking for subsequent performance analysis and the detection of website and application errors. The largest share of this tracking system is in Oceania – 15.79%, and the smallest in the CIS – 1.96%.

    Bing and Microsoft Corporation

    The share of DNT triggers for Microsoft Corporation trackers in each region, July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    Microsoft trackers collect information about user interactions with its online services and other sites. This data is used to optimize service performance, find errors, and more. While this tracking system has a relatively small share, it is present in all regional TOP 25 lists. Microsoft Corporation largest share is in Latin America – 3.38%, and the smallest in the CIS – 0.68%.

    We studied Bing as a separate tracking system, although it is actually part of Microsoft.

    The share of DNT triggers for Bing trackers in each region, July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    Bing is a full-fledged search engine. Its trackers collect information on search queries, location, and user preferences to display relevant ads – classic search engine functionality. It can be assumed that the share of Bing’s tracking system in various regions indicates the popularity of the search engine itself. A notable share of Bing trackers among the TOP 25 was in Africa – 8.46%, and the smallest in the CIS – 0.77%.

    Regional statistics

    Europe

    Distribution of the TOP 25 tracking systems in Europe, July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    In the European region, Google tracking systems occupy the top two positions in the TOP 25. Google Display & Video 360 accounts for 17.27%, while Google Analytics holds 11.93%. In third place, with a 9.13% share, is Amazon Technologies. Fourth is Criteo with 6.80%, followed by YouTube Analytics (5.65%), Bing (5.33%), and Google AdSense (5.23%).

    In addition to the tracking systems that are in the TOP 25 of other regions, there is one company in the European ranking not found anywhere else: Improve Digital, a Dutch company that deals with advertising and marketing projects. It closes the TOP 25 with a small share of 1.22%. Next, we’ll look at regions and even countries where the tracking system rankings contain far more names not found in any other region.

    Africa

    Distribution of the TOP 25 tracking systems in Africa, July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    In Africa, Google trackers occupy the top three spots, with Google Display & Video 360 leading at 19.03%. By the way, only one region and one country among those we examined do not have Google tracking systems in the top position; in nearly all other regions, Google Display & Video 360 leads the rankings, occasionally being surpassed by Google Analytics. In second and third place in the African region are Google Analytics (12.94%) and YouTube Analytics (10.25%). Following them are the aforementioned New Relic (8.55%), Bing (8.46%), Google AdSense (5.11%), Criteo (3.40%), and Xandr (3.17%) – a company owned by Microsoft that focuses on advertising and analytics. The African TOP 25 doesn’t contain any unique tracking systems that can’t be found in other regions.

    Middle East

    Distribution of the TOP 25 tracking systems in the Middle East (excluding Iran), July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    The top four most widespread tracking systems in the Middle East belong to Google: Google Display & Video 360 (22.92%), Google Analytics (14.12%), YouTube Analytics (12.30%), and Google AdSense (6.91%). Next are Criteo (6.55%), New Relic (4.42%), Bing (2.66%), and Amazon Technologies (2.37%).

    In 19th place, with a small share of 1.42%, are trackers from the Turkish advertising company Virgul.com, unique to this region.

    Distribution of the TOP 25 tracking systems in Iran, July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    In the Middle East, there is one country worth considering separately due to the significant number of tracking systems that are not found in other rankings – Iran. Despite the presence of numerous local trackers, Google still takes the top spot. However, not with Google Display & Video 360, which ranks third at 11.35%, but rather with Google Analytics at 35.78%, the highest for this system across all the regions and countries we reviewed. In second place are Microsoft Corporation trackers (12.08%), and in fourth is Yandex.Metrica (4.90%). The latter is a division of the Russian company Yandex, responsible for user data collection and analysis for advertising and marketing services, such as analyzing audiences and their behavior. Following Yandex is the local Tehran-based company Yektan (4.52%), which collects and analyzes data for advertising services. Another local Iranian company in the TOP 25 is the internet advertising agency SabaVision (1.55%).

    In addition to these domestic trackers, Iran’s TOP 25 also includes some that appear only in this country but which are not Iranian in origin. These include Tradingview.com (1.84%), an American company collecting telemetry, Amplitude (1.46%), a digital analytics company, Heap (1.18%), a product optimization platform, and Webklipper Technologies (0.96%), which specializes in internet marketing.

    Latin America

    Distribution of the TOP 25 tracking systems in Latin America, July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    The TOP 25 tracking systems most frequently detected in Latin America contain no local companies. Google Display & Video 360 ranks first with 20.13%, followed by Google Analytics (14.89%) and YouTube Analytics (8.89%). The TOP 25 is completed by PubMatic (1.08%), a company providing software for internet advertising. While it appears in many TOP 25 rankings, its share is minimal.

    North America

    Distribution of the TOP 25 tracking systems in North America, July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    In North America, Google Display & Video 360 leads the TOP 25 with a significant margin, holding 16.84%. Amazon Technologies comes second with 9.08%. Interestingly, Amazon Technologies trackers appear in the TOP 3 only in three regions or countries we considered: Europe, North America, and Japan. In third place is Google Analytics with 8.42%, which is the lowest share for this system in any of the regions examined. New Relic comes in fourth with 7.62%.

    The North American TOP 25 includes two tracking systems not seen in other regions: The Trade Desk (1.79%) and Quantum Metric (1.76%), both American companies providing platforms for digital analytics and advertising.

    Oceania

    Distribution of the TOP 25 tracking systems in Oceania, July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    In Oceania, Google Display & Video 360 (18.43%) ranks first, and New Relic, with a 15.79% share, takes second, marking the highest percentage for this tracking system among all the regions and countries examined. Google Analytics is in third place with 12.00%. In addition to the trackers found in most regions, Oceania features Oracle Moat Measurement (2.10%), Chartbeat (1.11%), and Nielsen (1.03%), which appear only in this region’s ranking. Chartbeat is an American company that collects and analyzes user data for media companies to improve monetization. Nielsen is an American company specializing in market measurement, collecting and analyzing user data for this purpose. Oracle Moat Measurement is the advertising division of Oracle, which will cease operations on September 30, 2024. Oracle itself will exit the advertising market, so this is likely the last time we’ll see this tracking system in our research.

    The CIS

    Distribution of the TOP 25 tracking systems in the CIS (excluding Russia), July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    The CIS region is the most unusual in terms of the distribution of the TOP 25 tracking systems. This is the only region where Google trackers do not occupy the top two spots, ranking third (Google Analytics) with a relatively small share of 9.30% or lower. The first place is held by Yandex.Metrica trackers with 26.19%. As mentioned earlier, Yandex system not only made the TOP 25 in the CIS but was also seen in the Iranian ranking (fourth place at 4.90%), the Middle East (2.30%), and of course, Russia, where it holds first place with a 26.43% share.

    In second place in the CIS ranking is the tracking system from Mail.ru (owned by the VK corporation) with a share of 20.76%. In addition to these two giants in the CIS tracking market, several other local tracking systems also made it into the TOP 25. Right after the three Google systems – Google Analytics (9.30%), YouTube Analytics (8.34%), and Google Display & Video 360 (8.33%) – the tracking system of the local company Mediascope had 2.82%. Mediascope focuses on audience preference and behavior research. Also included in the TOP 25 of the CIS are developments from the following Russian companies: Adriver (2.75%), Buzzoola (2.02%), AdFox, owned by Yandex (1.69%), Rambler Internet Holdings (1.46%), Sape.ru (1.42%), Artificial Computation Intelligence (1.33%), Between Digital (1.01%), Otm (0.99%), Adx.com.ru (0.93%). In total, Russian tracking systems account for 63.35% of the overall CIS ranking.

    Distribution of TOP 25 tracking systems in Russia, July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    In Russia, the TOP 5 is occupied by domestic tracking systems: Yandex.Metrica (26.43%), Mail.Ru (16.60%), Mediascope (6.16%), Sape.ru (4.89%) and Artificial Computation Intelligence (4.80%). Google AdSense only ranks sixth with a 4.50% share. In addition to the trackers seen in the CIS TOP 25, the Russian ranking features an even larger number of Russian tracking services: VK (2.09%), Uniontraff (1.79%), Bidvol (1.16%), Teleport Media (0.97%), Avito (0.87%), MoeVideo (0.79%), GetIntent (0.62%), AmberData (0.59%), Kimberlite.io (0.59%) and Bumlam.com (0.56%).

    The share of Russian tracking systems in the TOP 25 amounts to 87.50%. This makes Russia the only region where the overwhelming majority of the TOP 25 tracking systems are local players.

    East Asia

    Distribution of the TOP 25 tracking systems in East Asia (excluding Japan and South Korea), July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    The top four positions in East Asia are occupied by Google tracking systems. Google Display & Video 360 is in first place with a share of 24.45%, followed by Google Analytics (13.83%), YouTube Analytics (11.66%), and Google AdSense (6.61%). Unlike other regions, the tracking system of the major Chinese IT company Baidu made the TOP 25 in East Asia with a share of 1.87%.

    There are also countries in the region that are worth considering separately, as they feature not only global tracking systems but also local players.

    Distribution of the TOP 25 tracking systems in Japan, July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    In addition to global companies whose tracking services are observed around the world, in Japan there are trackers only popular within the country. The Yahoo! Japan web portal is widely used, with its trackers accounting for 4.70%. Yahoo Advertising, the digital advertising division of Yahoo, holds a share of 2.35%.

    Local Japanese tracking systems are also well-represented in Japan’s TOP 25, including Geniee (2.77%), Adsp from the Japanese company SMN Corporation (1.35%), MicroAd (1.18%), Supership (1.05%), and LINE Corporation (1.04%). The total share of Japanese companies in the TOP 25 tracking systems is 12.08%.

    Distribution of the TOP 25 tracking systems in South Korea, July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    The TOP 25 in South Korea also differs from other global rankings, as it includes local Korean trackers. For example, the tracking systems of the highly popular Korean online platform NAVER rank fifth with 7.75%. Another major local player, Kakao, appears twice in the rankings: Kakao trackers are in ninth place with a 1.83% share, while trackers from the web portal Daum (owned by Kakao Corporation) hold a 1.17% share.

    South Asia

    Distribution of the TOP 25 tracking systems in South Asia, July 2023 — June 2024 (download)

    The last region under review is South Asia. The ranking here is fairly typical in terms of the global statistics. Google Display & Video 360 takes first place with 25.47%, followed by Google Analytics (13.97%), YouTube Analytics (12.71%) and Google AdSense (6.85%). Only three American trackers made it into the TOP 25 in South Asia: Sovrn (1.24%), Mux (1.10%) and LinkedIn (1.02%).

    Takeaways

    Google remains the undisputed leader in collecting, analyzing, and processing user data globally. However, in regions like South Korea, Japan, and Russia – where local internet services are particularly advanced – regional tracking systems not only make it into the TOP 25 but can even prevail over global ones. In some cases, such as in the CIS, local trackers can even take over entire regions. On one hand, looking at the TOP 25, it’s clear that user data collection and analysis is not limited to just a few large companies – and the more companies store and process our data, the higher the risk of data breaches. On the other hand, the list of companies is still finite, and the majority of tracking is handled by IT giants, who are motivated to protect user data to avoid reputational damage. The presence of local trackers is undoubtedly a sign of technological development in a region or country. However, the spread of local tracking systems increases the risk of data leaks and can weaken the user’s sense of control over who collects their data. To prevent unwanted data collection by various companies and, in turn, prevent data leaks, we recommend activating the Do Not Track (DNT) plugin.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: WHO and multilateral development banks kick off US$ 1.5 billion primary health financing platform with new funds and launch of first investment plans in 15 countries

    Source: European Investment Bank

    Execution is starting under the new Health Impact Investment Platform on the first country health investment plans turning original commitment into operational reality. The landmark partnership between Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), the World Health Organization (WHO) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is addressing the critical need for coordinated efforts to strengthen primary healthcare (PHC) in vulnerable and underserved communities to build resilience against pandemic threats like mpox and the climate crisis.

    At the high-level roundtable meeting in New York on the margins of the UN Summit of the Future in New York today, new funding was signed, and it was agreed that the partners will sit down and start identifying needs and planning health care improvements in 15 countries*.

    The roundtable was attended by the partnership’s three founding MDBs – the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) –,WHO and the heads of state, as well as finance and health ministers from Djibouti, Egypt and Ethiopia. The Asian Development Bank also attended the high-level meeting and announced their intention to join the Health Impact Investment Platform in order to expand the initiative into the regions where it operates.

    The EIB and WHO signed an initial contribution of € 10 million to kick start the implementation of these investment plans. The Islamic Development Bank and the African Development Bank are finalizing their contributions for the same amount that will be signed in the near future.

    The platform is a key part of an effort to unlock € 1.5 billion in concessional loans and grants to expand and improve primary health-care services in low- and middle-income countries, especially in the most vulnerable communities. The investment plans now being developed in these 15 countries, as a phase 1, are expected to make up a significant proportion of that financing effort.

    The platform aims to work in close partnership with governments to develop national health strategies focused on primary health care and on prioritizing investment opportunities that meet national health needs. Today’s kick-off comes one year after the platform was announced during the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris.

    Dr Ibrahima Sy, Minister of Health, Republic of Senegal said, “it’s important to bring in private sector, local communities and different forms of financing to drive health progress. The involvement of WHO, multilateral development banks and countries is critical to guiding the investments from this Platform to deliver primary health care on the ground and develop local vaccine manufacturing capacity.” 

    Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, Minister of Health of Uganda said, “I congratulate you for coming up with this very important platform. All our issues are actually based at primary health care level, whether it comes to disease outbreaks, whether it comes to health access, everything is at the primary health care level, and our diseases start there and end there.”

    “Primary health care is the most equitable, cost-effective and inclusive way to improve health and well-being, helping to keep people healthy, prevent diseases, and detect outbreaks at their earliest stage,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “The Health Impact Investment Platform will be a vital source of new financing to build climate and crisis-resilient primary health care in some of the countries that need it most. WHO thanks the multilateral development banks for their partnership, and we are committed to working closely with the countries to put these funds to work and start making a difference in the communities we serve.”

    Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank, said: “One year ago, we launched the Health Impact Investment Platform, and today we are taking the next steps with our contribution to help countries develop their tailored investment plans. Supporting primary health-care services is the foundation of strong communities. Working closely with fellow Multilateral Development Banks and partner countries, guided by the expertise of the World Health Organization, we are making a difference.”

    “The health security of the world is only as strong as its weakest part, and the new funds announced today will help countries improve primary healthcare, which is critical to stopping disease outbreaks in their tracks,” said Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships. “In addition to the funds, the Platform will strengthen partnerships between countries and funders to ensure funds are effectively invested.”

    Before the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO estimated that to reach the health-related Sustainable Development Goals, low- and low-middle income countries needed to increase their health spending significantly and require an additional US$ 371 billion annually combined by 2030. This funding would allow populations to access health services, contribute to building new facilities and train and place health workers where they need to be. It has also been estimated that preparing for future pandemics will require investment in the order of US$ 31.1 billion annually. Approximately one third of that total would have to come from international financing.

    The new Platform builds on experience gained through cooperation between countries, multilateral organizations and development banks that proved fruitful during the pandemic. For example, WHO, the EIB and the European Commission supported Angola, Ethiopia and Rwanda in strengthening their health systems. Initially launched as stand-alone programmes or as part of the countries’ response to COVID-19, these interventions mobilized technical assistance, grants and investments with advantageous terms to build up or implement primary health care related interventions.

    *15 countries identified as part of phase one of the Health Impact Investment Platform are:

    • Burundi
    • Central African Republic 
    • Comoros
    • Djibouti
    • Egypt
    • Ethiopia 
    • Gambia
    • Guinea Bissau 
    • Jordan
    • Maldives
    • Morocco
    • Senegal
    • South Sudan 
    • Tunisia 
    • Zambia 

    Background information

    About the World Health Organization

    The World Health Organization (WHO) is the United Nations’ specialized agency for health. It is an inter-governmental organization and works in collaboration with its Member States usually through the Ministries of Health. The World Health Organization is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.

    Media contact: mediainquiries@who.int  

    About the African Development Bank Group

    The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 37 African countries with an external office in Japan, the AfDB contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states.

    About the European Investment Bank

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It finances sound investment contributing to EU policy goals. The EIB’s activities focus on the following priority areas: climate and environment, development, innovation and skills, small and medium-sized businesses, infrastructure, and cohesion. The EIB works closely with other institutions and has provided total financing of more than € 42 billion for healthcare-related projects around the world since it started investing in the sector in 1997.  

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Mobility for senior citizens across the EU – E-001731/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001731/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Seán Kelly (PPE)

    With numerous Member States offering discounted or cheaper travel passes for their senior citizens at regional and national level, this promotes independence of older citizens, while ensuring that their mobility remains a priority.

    Has the Commission considered the possibility of developing an initiative where an EU-wide discount is provided to senior citizens to facilitate their travel within the EU? Could such a system be modelled on the implementation of the European disability card and European parking card system? This could also contribute to the tourism industries across all Member States.

    Submitted: 17.9.2024

    Last updated: 23 September 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Derville Rowland: Change and challenges – responding to uncertainty, transforming for the future and driving innovation

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Good afternoon. Many thanks to AFME for the invitation to speak at this conference again this year. Today I will focus on the regulatory outlook for financial services in Europe and Ireland in the context of a rapidly changing, more uncertain and ever challenging world.

    The old adage, attributed to Harold Wilson, that “a week is a long time in politics” is equally applicable in many walks of life – but it has often been the case in financial markets. The last period has been no different and week to week we have seen things change rapidly. At the start of August we saw a turbulent trading period following fears of an imminent US recession. More recently, we have seen markets respond to the Fed’s half-point interest rate reduction and the Bank of England and Bank of Japan hold rates steady.  While conditions have improved since, significant downside risks remain.

    In particular, geo-political events remain potential sources of fragility over the coming months, including uncertainty around electoral outcomes, continuing conflict in the middle-east and Ukraine, turbulent economic conditions. Closely linked to the issue of geopolitical tensions, there is now heightened focus on the centrality of cyber risk and operational resilience. The Crowdstrike cyber incident in July, while contained early and brought under control, caused significant disruption and highlighted the fragilities in the system. Cyber risk, and the link to geopolitical tensions, has been flagged by ESMA, EBA and EIOPA and are increasingly recognised as a significant and likely risk by regulated firms. Positively, we have also seen the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) and the EU Agency for Cybersecurity announce the signing of a multilateral MoU to strengthen their cooperation and information exchange on cybersecurity risk in the financial sector.  In light of heightened cyber risks, the importance of operational resilience remains paramount. The implementation of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) remains a key focus for regulators and firms. Digital operational resilience is a fundamental underpinning of a resilient and well-functioning financial system supporting the economy and serving the needs of citizens.  That said, ensuring proportionality has been a central focus of the work to develop the DORA framework. This is an important requirement of all regulation, but is certainly the case with DORA given it is cross-sectoral and applies to almost all financial firms. As implementation work progresses, it will be important for authorities to be mindful of ensuring that smaller firms, in particular, are not disproportionately burdened by the same requirements as larger institutions.

    In Europe, we have seen significant institutional change as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen takes up her second term in office and the process is underway to appoint new Commissioners. The broad parameters of the forthcoming European legislative and regulatory agenda have been signalled.  International competitiveness remains at the centre of the Commission’s programme, as we have seen from the recent Draghi and Letta reports. It seems likely that there will be a continued focus on reducing and simplifying existing EU law. That is an approach which all policy makers, including national authorities and the European Supervisory Authorities, should be mindful of. However, effective regulation which safeguards consumers, fosters market integrity and supports resilience is key to supporting financial stability. Financial stability and the resilience of the financial sector are prerequisites for sustainable economic growth and promoting competitiveness. In a drive to streamline regulation we must not lose sight of this. It is important to retain the outcomes achieved via legislative and regulatory initiatives enacted since the great financial crisis.

    At the centre of policy makers thinking is the need to finance the EU’s ambitious policy agenda. A significant challenge facing Europe is to secure the public and private finance for the economic and other programmes, including the digital transformation and green deal. At the centre of this is the concept of a Savings and Investment Union, building on the progress made under the Capital Markets Union agenda. In April, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen summed this up by saying that “European start-ups should not need to look at the US or Asia to finance their expansion. They must find what they need to grow right here in Europe. We need a deep and liquid capital market. And we need a competition policy that supports companies to scale up. Europe must be the home of opportunity and innovation.”

    There is much still to determine – including the level of ambition for this Savings Union and whether it should be a top-down exercise or if the lead should be taken at a Member State level.  But I suspect, like most things, the answer is likely somewhere in the middle.  While details remain to be worked out, the Letta and Draghi reports likely set out the broad roadmap for how this may be pursued. That said, there will be a need to radically prioritise. Implementing the Letta report alone would require a number of new legislative proposals, in addition to legislative reviews already committed to and implementation work that is required following the last Commission term.

    As the Draghi report outlines, Europe must refocus its collective efforts on closing the innovation gap with the US and China, especially in advanced technologies. This is important for many reasons, including that faster innovation will, in turn, help raise the EU’s productivity growth, leading to stronger growth in household incomes and stronger domestic demand. At the Central Bank of Ireland, we recognise the many potential benefits and opportunities that new technologies bring to financial services and consumers in Ireland and in Europe. It is important that these benefits can be realised, whilst also ensuring that the risks are well understood and managed. Regulation plays a crucial role in the safe, and therefore enduring, adoption of innovation into the system.

    Innovation has brought in new entrants, new products and new ways of serving customers and the economy. As a result, technological innovation continues to be a focus for the Central Bank. This is one of the reasons why we have enhanced our innovation facilities – with the establishment of an innovation sandbox programme which is due to commence for the first time later this year  – so that we can continue to engage, learn and develop a deeper understanding of the ecosystem, the opportunities, the benefits and the risks. Our goal is not to remain stagnant but to evolve and iterate so that we continue to regulate and supervise effectively.

    Recent years have seen tremendous innovations in financial services. Amongst the most notable have been the development of blockchain-based technologies. We can see the many areas where the blockchain has significant potential to bring about positive change, even transformation, in how we do things. Whether this be tokenisation of investment products or improvements in post-trade infrastructure and interoperability, there are important positive stories to tell.

    The European Commission’s 2020 digital finance package has set Europe up well to take advantage of these developments. The package reflected the EU’s ambition to embrace a digital transition, to help modernise the European economy across sectors, and to turn Europe into a global digital player. Almost 4 years later, we are about to implement the Markets in Crypto-Asset Regulation, or MiCAR.

    This is an important step forward in the regulation of crypto activities in Europe while also leading the way on the regulation of the crypto sector globally.  The potential for crypto and blockchain to build financial inclusivity or democratise finance has long been a theme of discussion in the sector. Crypto enthusiasts speak readily to how crypto and blockchain technologies, paired with global internet access, can provide easy and immediate access to people across the world to financial services and achieve a level of financial inclusivity that the traditional financial services cannot. While this is an exciting prospect, it cannot be achieved without guardrails. For the first time, MiCAR will introduce a harmonised regulatory framework for the sector that introduces prudential and conduct obligations for issuers of e-money tokens, asset-referenced tokens, and for crypto-asset service providers. There are also obligations for offers to the public of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens.

    There are two priorities I would signal with respect to MiCAR implementation. Firstly, we are working closely with our EU Peers and the ESAs to ensure the necessary coordination and consistency across Europe. The ESAs are, correctly, focused on driving a convergent approach to the implementation of MiCAR in national authorities authorisation and supervision processes. We see this as highly important work. MiCAR, being a first attempt at regulation in this area, is an important opportunity to avoid divergent approaches emerging in different jurisdictions.

    Secondly, over recent years, we have been working to continually improve our authorisation process. Through engagement with industry, other public bodies and applicants, we have sought to better explain our expectations, resulting in increased clarity and predictability. Better risk assessment, better communication and better supervisory outcomes have been the output of that work. We have produced new publications, enhanced our internal processes and responded to the changes in the authorisation landscape, including the increase in the number of complex applications. Under MiCAR, you can expect our approach of continuous improvement to continue.

    Innovation and new technologies can play an increasingly important role in facilitating retail investors participating in capital markets. As we shortly approach IOSCO’s World Investor Week, which is a global campaign to raise awareness of the importance of investor education and protection, it is timely for regulatory authorities and policy makers to take stock and redouble our efforts to support investor education, investor protection and financial literacy.

    Protecting consumers is at the heart of what we do at the Central Bank. We know that consumers who are well-informed and understand financial products and services are better placed to make good financial decisions and to look after their interests. These consumers are less likely to be vulnerable to harm from firms that are not securing their interests, and they are less vulnerable to frauds and scams. This is why high levels of financial literacy empower consumers to make effective and informed choices to safeguard their financial well-being. Irish authorities are currently in the process of developing a national Financial Literacy Strategy for Ireland, something which we at the Central Bank strongly support.

    Ireland’s financial sector has an important role to play in supporting the Savings and Investment Union and providing opportunities for retail investors to participate in capital markets. The sector has demonstrated high levels of resilience while continuing provide critical services to households and business in Ireland and abroad. As with the European economy as a whole, over the last decade, the Irish financial services sector has also continued evolve, in terms of its size, complexity and international connectedness. These developments are, of course, a positive for Ireland, and positive for their contribution to European financial markets. We of course must be mindful that an expanding and more complex financial sector may poses risks that need to be managed. This reinforces the importance of effective regulation and supervision – to maintain financial stability and to protect consumers and investors, both within Ireland, Europe and globally.

    As I mentioned earlier, we recognise that we too must change to keep pace with the changing world. I would like to finish by outlining some of the work we are doing in this regard.

    As you will be aware, we have introduced the Individual Accountability Framework (IAF). The IAF is all about helping underpin sound governance across the financial sector by setting out clearly what is expected of well-run firms. For both firms and the regulator it should be seen as a complement to the wider focus on governance, culture and behaviour. For the Central Bank our hope is that along with wider efforts, the IAF will help make firms take more ownership and responsibility for running their business and addressing any risks or deficiencies they may have. In an increasingly technological and rapidly changing world, the need for effective governance underpinned by a strong ethical culture and robust systems of delivery is becoming more and more essential.

    We are also transforming our supervisory approach – to ensure consumers of financial services are protected in all respects in this changing and increasingly complex environment. Building on the strong foundations of our current approach to supervision, we are moving to an integrated supervisory framework where directorates with oversight of banks, insurance companies and capital markets will be responsible for the supervision of all the functions in their respective sectors. Our approach will continue to be risk-based; but the new framework will ensure we are more efficient and effective in our supervisory work. It will make it easier to direct our supervisory resources to the areas of most risk to consumers or the system. Importantly, it will also place consumer and investor protection at the heart of day to day supervision. This change will maximise the benefit of our integrated mandate – enabling us to continue to deliver on our mission and ensure the financial system operates in the best interests of consumers and the wider economy.  These changes are not just important; they are necessary – so that in a changing world we continue to deliver in the public interest.

    Conclusion

    The EU will also need to take a number of very important decisions in the coming years, especially in terms of what elements of the legislative and regulatory agenda to prioritise, the level of ambition to apply in harnessing the EU’s investment potential, and how to navigate geo-political tensions. All of these – to different degrees – will have an impact on financial markets and firms. The speed of these developments – and their potential to cause ripple effects – will not decrease. And so the onus is on us – firms and regulatory authorities alike – to increasingly evolve our approach, innovate and prepare for what the future may hold.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: BoBC Auction Results – 24 September 2024

    Source: Bank of Botswana

    The Monetary Policy Rate (MoPR) was unchanged at 1.9 percent of the previous week, for a paper maturing on 2 October 2024.  The summarised results of the auction held on 24 September 2024, are attached below:

    BOBC Results 24 September 2024.pdf

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: ADB President Reaffirms Strong Partnership with Bhutan during Official Visit

    Source: Asia Development Bank

    THIMPHU, BHUTAN (24 September 2024) — Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa reaffirmed ADB’s commitment to supporting Bhutan’s development goals and praised the country’s recent achievements during a 3-day official visit to the country.

    “Bhutan has made significant strides in reducing poverty and improving education and health services, and its recent graduation from least developed country status is commendable,” said Mr. Asakawa. “As a trusted partner for over 4 decades, ADB remains committed to helping Bhutan build on its progress and achieve sustainable development, and the new country strategy provides the road map.”

    During his visit, Mr. Asakawa met with Finance Minister and ADB Governor Lekey Dorji. The discussions centered on ADB’s support for policy reforms and institutional strengthening, climate and disaster resilient infrastructure development, and human capital development. After the meeting, Mr. Asakawa witnessed the signing by ADB and the Royal Government of Bhutan for the $30 million Distributed Solar for Public Infrastructure Project.

    Mr. Asakawa will also visit the Babena satellite clinic in Thimphu, one of five clinics built with ADB financing to bring affordable health care closer to Bhutanese communities and reduce pressure on the main tertiary hospital. He will meet with students at the Samthang Technical Training Institute in Wangdue Phodrang, an institution upgraded with ADB assistance to enhance the employability of secondary school and TVET graduates.

    Highlighting the pressing issue of climate change, Mr. Asakawa will visit rural areas surrounded by the Himalayan Mountains to draw attention to accelerating glacial melt in the region. “Climate action is a top priority for ADB,” he stated. “The rapid glacial melt driven by climate change poses significant risks not just for Bhutan but for the entire region. ADB is launching bold new initiatives that will build resilience in vulnerable areas like the Hindu Kush Himalayas.”

    Mr. Asakawa’s visit follows the recent launch of ADB’s new Bhutan country partnership strategy (CPS). The CPS for 2024–2028 aims to reinforce Bhutan’s development efforts by strengthening public sector management, enabling private sector development, building climate-adaptive and resilient infrastructure, and enhancing human capital development to increase youth employability. The strategy aligns with Bhutan’s 13th Five-Year Plan.

    ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Elizabeth McCaul: The future of European banking supervision – connecting people and technology

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Introduction

    I’m honoured to welcome you again to this conference, which is already being held for the fifth time.

    It’s the fifth anniversary of this conference but we are also celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). Naturally, it is a moment of reflection about what the future holds and how European banking supervision should continue to evolve. And, right now, various societal, political, technological, environmental and economic mega trends are shaping the future of the financial industry. In the tech area, for example, we are in the midst of a fast-paced and unprecedented development which is changing every aspect of the economy.

    The ways of working are changing profoundly.

    My son is a computer programmer. This weekend while driving we spoke about the possibilities for his future and what sort of work he might do, given the rapid innovation taking place. He told me he uses AI now regularly to produce code for him that he then reviews. Very different from the work he was hired for just two years ago when he graduated!

    In the aviation field artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to enhance the safety and efficiency of air traffic control by analysing historical and real-time flight data to predict potential collisions. Predicting accidents before they occur: isn’t that also a goal worthy of banking supervision? And in the health care field, common applications include diagnosing patients, end-to-end drug discovery and development, improving communication between physician and patient or transcribing medical documents such as prescriptions. All of this change in the industries around us are food for thought as we consider in a clear-eyed, realistic and vigilant way the risks and opportunities for us in banking supervision.

    Disruptive technologies like AI are playing a growing role in banks’ day-to-day activities, and access to technology is becoming widespread. At the same time, banks are becoming ever more dependent on data, IT platforms and third-party providers.

    To keep the banking sector safe and sound in the face of these trends, we need to equip the supervisors of the future with the right tools and skills. And it is this principle that has guided our strategic work on the digital agenda.

    Since the inception of European banking supervision in 2014 we have built up and continuously improved a set of core IT systems, launched our suptech efforts and created multiple cutting-edge tools which are already up and running. And now it is time to shape a new common strategy covering both our core IT systems and our suptech tools, as well as, most importantly, their integration.

    SSM tech strategy for 2024-2028

    The new SSM tech strategy for 2024-2028 builds on two main pillars: people and technology. The strategy not only addresses several critical business needs Any smart strategy developed for the future must have at its foundation the recognition that people and technology are increasingly, even inextricably intertwined.

    How have we incorporated that?

    We have done so by setting as our goal connecting people and technology so we can deliver “supervision at your fingertips”, This way, human expertise and technological innovation go hand-in-hand. We are structuring our work to ensure efficient, effective and integrated supervision that keeps pace with the trends and structural changes in the banking sector which I touched upon earlier. We are working on several levels to make sure that supervisors can fully use the applications and data available to them and that technology is seamlessly integrated into their day-to-day work. And we aim to consolidate IT to further strengthen European banking supervision, allowing supervisors to work as a single team with shared technology across the ECB and national competent authorities (NCAs).

    But what does this mean more concretely for our banking supervisors of the future? What impact will this strategy have on their work? What tools will they use?

    To make this tangible, let’s imagine a future supervisor called Pete. The name “Pete” symbolises the two key pillars of our strategy: “Pe” stands for people, and “te” for technology. So, how does our new strategy support Pete?

    People

    Let me start with the first pillar of our new strategy and the most important asset we have: our supervisors, people like Pete. Under this pillar, we plan to support Pete’s work in the following three ways.

    Promoting a user-focused innovation culture

    First, we aim to instil a culture that supports the adoption of our suptech tools and embeds advanced technology into regular supervisory processes. We are convinced that having a clear user focus in all our technological activities and ensuring an enhanced user experience will encourage the take-up of our tools.

    One way of fostering the adoption of tools is our European banking supervision-wide suptech champions initiative. Under this initiative, Pete and other colleagues at the NCAs and in various business areas across ECB Banking Supervision can become trained experts in suptech tools.

    These suptech champions can then provide local and easy-to-access support to users. They also collect feedback and identify user needs in order to further develop the tool. In this way, suptech champions act as ambassadors, both promoting awareness and supporting the use and development of suptech tools. Already, 45 champions across 17 NCAs have reached over 1,000 supervisors through multiple channels, including workshops and providing guidance on the use of suptech tools.

    Future-proofing our organisation

    Second, we are continuing to make our organisation ready for the future by establishing a steady-state tech function that connects internal tech and supervision experts across business areas and NCAs. We want to cultivate a collaborative approach to shaping SSM technology and enhancing the adoption and use of available tools.

    In one of our flagship initiatives, NCAs can become suptech centres, which are at the forefront of developing technology for European banking supervision. They deliver tools that can subsequently be made available to the ECB and other NCAs.

    A case in point is that one NCA has developed a new use case for assessing the group structures of banks over time in our network analysis platform, Navi, which benefits European banking supervision as a whole.

    Deepening our global partnerships

    Third, we seek to tap into the global innovation networks with which we have established strong ties in recent years. For instance, we have been working closely with leading academic institutions to deliver state-of-the-art training to supervisors on machine learning, programming for data analytics, prompting and other topics.

    We are also working closely with industry leaders in other areas, such as generative AI, cloud technology and big data, as well as with start-ups to bring the latest and most advanced technologies to banking supervision. At the same time, we are partnering with other authorities across the world to experiment with new ways of solving common problems. Such partnerships mean that Pete has access to knowledge and state-of-the art technology that boost efficiency and improve supervisory outcomes, which brings me to the second pillar of our strategy, technology.

    Technology

    Through our SSM tech strategy, we want to connect people with technology. In other words, we need to equip Pete with the necessary tools and capabilities.

    Working as a single team with shared technology

    The first cluster in the technology pillar concerns our core IT systems.

    On the one hand we will continue to future-proof our core systems and data infrastructure by making them more modular, scalable and innovation-friendly while keeping them secure. We aim to optimise the IT landscape by integrating and consolidating systems across European banking supervision.

    On the other hand, we will decommission legacy systems to maximise the use and impact of existing applications. Working as a single team across the ECB and NCAs with access to shared technology will allow Pete to collaborate more intensively with European central banking colleagues.

    Olympus is a notable project in this regard.

    Through Olympus, we aim to proactively shape our IT landscape and make it ready for the upcoming challenges and opportunities offered by new technologies. This ambitious project reviews the full IT landscape and sets out a roadmap and action plan for the future of IT in European banking supervision. For this project, we have identified four high-level targets rooted in our supervisory needs that guide all activities.

    Our first target is to strengthen our data-driven work. Imagine having easy access to data and efficient processing within a few clicks. This will empower our teams to make informed decisions swiftly and effectively.

    The second target is to provide common and connected tools and systems. Using integrated systems to foster collaboration among all European banking supervisors, we will create a cohesive working environment that allows everyone to work together smoothly.

    The third target is to ensure seamless access and navigation. By unifying access and identity management, we will make it easier for our staff to find and use the resources they need, free from technical obstacles.

    Lastly, we will establish common IT standards and delivery. By adopting consistent IT standards, we will drive rapid and user-friendly digital innovation, ensuring our technology keeps pace with the latest advances.

    Under the Olympus project we have set out the concrete action needed to reach these targets.

    What does this mean for Pete, though? Let me give you an example.

    Pete will be able to use the SSM Cockpit to navigate through supervisory tasks. The SSM Cockpit will provide a user-centric platform integrated with core systems to facilitate access and navigation to various tools and systems. By design, it will be a flexible solution that meets the diverse information and reporting needs of different supervisory roles. The Cockpit will feature advanced, AI-powered capabilities to help supervisors efficiently carry out their core tasks.

    Generating new insights through supervisory analytics

    Supervisory analytics are the second cluster under the technology pillar. These seek to enhance risk assessment by augmenting analytical capabilities and combining structured and unstructured data. There is also a pressing business need to address emerging risks such as climate-related and environmental risks, as well as IT and cyber risks. To do so, we must explore new datasets and information sources, including social media. Supervisory analytics will give Pete and his colleagues new insights which will help them stay ahead of emerging risks and provide more robust and timely risk assessments.

    We have been working on a tool called Delphi which uses natural language processing to integrate market risk-based indicators and information from news items into a single web-based platform with a user-friendly interface. The insights afforded by combining such quantitative and qualitative information mean that supervisors like Pete can adequately assess the underlying risks and better understand the real-time risk development affecting individual banks.

    Automating processes by harnessing AI

    Our third and last cluster under the technology pillar concerns process automation and collaboration. Think about how the automotive industry is being transformed by smart manufacturing. In a smart factory, machines, devices and systems are interconnected and can communicate with one another, enabling real-time data collection, analysis and decision-making. What can we learn from other industries to become more effective and efficient in our supervision?

    We are committed to delivering additional breakthrough solutions that use AI – and more specifically generative AI – to simplify and automate workflows, while improving collaboration within European banking supervision. For a while now, we have been harnessing AI and making it available in some of our tools, such as Athena, which helps supervisors analyse extensive textual information in various formats and languages, and Virtual Lab, a platform for SSM-wide digital collaboration as well as code sharing, cloud computing and the development of generative AI (GenAI) capabilities. We are also planning to deploy AI in the AFM Medusa project which will support our supervisors in drafting, consistency-checking and benchmarking findings and measures. Our vision is for supervisors to be increasingly empowered by GenAI, while remaining engaged in the process since they will be the ones who continue to review and approve work and take the final decisions. This technology will provide suggestions, assist in drafting input and help with analysis.

    To this end, we have been collecting use cases and are determining where it makes sense to implement European banking supervision-wide solutions, where specialised applications with narrower scopes and user groups are appropriate, and where off-the-shelf tools are sufficient. One of the solutions we have been working on is AthenaGPT, which complements Athena. Using AthenaGPT, supervisors like Pete are able to interact with several supervisory information sources at once. This boosts efficiency, as supervisors can then focus on the most relevant information. Searching for information in large supervisory repositories has never been easier. And in Agora, we are testing the ability for supervisors to query the data lake in English and use AI to translate into SQL, which is how the data can be accessed. This reminds me of how the work of my son is changing!

    Conclusion

    As you can see, we have ambitious plans for Pete and all our supervisors. Continuous investment in technology will remain key for ECB Banking Supervision to keep pace with changes in the banking landscape and address emerging supervisory risks.

    I am confident that we will be successful in this endeavour and that we will help Pete become a supervisor of the future: a strong SSM collaborator working in a single team with shared technology, an empowered data expert who bases decisions on advanced supervisory analytics and an agile supervisor making use of process automation and the latest technology.

    At the same time, I am incredibly proud of what we have already achieved. We have developed and fully implemented suptech tools that harness modern technologies such as AI across Europe. These tools have changed the way we do supervision. We have been surprised at how some of our tools have been received in our supervisory community. For example, we only expected to have around 200 users for Agora, the SSM single data lake. But we already have over 1,200 users, who have made over 1.6 million data queries using the tool. Our top innovation and collaboration tool, Virtual Lab, is being used by around 4,000 colleagues. And our network analytics tool, Navi, has now grown to cover almost a dozen major use cases. We have also trained almost 3,000 colleagues, including leaders, on topics related to innovation and digital transformation. This has helped broaden supervisors’ skillsets and established a mindset within our organisation that embraces technological change. Last, but not least, we have won four global innovation awards in three consecutive years.

    While we can be proud of these achievements, I believe that much remains to be done. There is a famous quote by the American sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson that continues to occupy my thoughts of late: “The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Palaeolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology.”

    You know that I spend a great deal of my waking hours thinking about the implications of the changing financial services environment we find ourselves in today. It’s an increasingly complex landscape, where we are facing geopolitical, climate and operational resiliency risks emanating from third party dependencies and cyber-attacks. We are facing changes to business models incorporating partnerships and responding to competition from and new entrants BigTech and FinTech. And the exponential growth of the global markets since the Great Financial Crisis in the interconnectedness of entities categorized as non-bank financial institutions with banks, especially private credit and equity funds operating outside the regulatory perimeter, is concerning, even worrying as we think about the effects on supervision and financial stability. Successfully connecting our technology and people to empower them in this changing landscape is essential.

    I would say that if we want to truly equip Pete for the future, it’s clear that our work has only just begun.

    Thank you very much for your attention. I hope you enjoy the rest of the conference.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Indonesia launches safeguard investigation on tarpaulins made from plastics and synthetic fibers

    Source: World Trade Organization

    In the notification, Indonesia indicated, among other things, as follows:

    “The contact information of the Investigating Authority for correspondence is:

    THE INDONESIAN SAFEGUARDS COMMITTEE
    Komite Pengamanan Perdagangan Indonesia (KPPI)
    Jl. M.I. Ridwan Rais No.5, Building I, 5th floor, Jakarta 10110
    Telephone / Facsimile: (62-21) 385 7758
    E-mail: [email protected]

    […]

    Those having substantial interest and wishing to be considered as interested parties in this investigation should submit written request within a period of 15 days in Indonesia from the date of initiation to the Investigating Authority. All submissions and requests made by interested parties must be sent both in written letter and in electronic format, and must indicate the name, address, e-mail address, telephone and fax number of the interested parties.”

    Further information is available in G/SG/N/6/IDN/45.

    What is a safeguard investigation?

    A safeguard investigation seeks to determine whether increased imports of a product are causing, or is threatening to cause, serious injury to a domestic industry.

    During a safeguard investigation, importers, exporters and other interested parties may present evidence and views and respond to the presentations of other parties.

    A WTO member may take a safeguard action (i.e. restrict imports of a product temporarily) only if the increased imports of the product are found to be causing, or threatening to cause, serious injury.

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    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: WTO advanced course on trade in services concludes in Geneva

    Source: WTO

    Headline: WTO advanced course on trade in services concludes in Geneva

    The LDCs participating in the course were Bangladesh, Madagascar, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Nepal, Tanzania, The Gambia and Zambia. The acceding country was Bhutan. The full list of participating economies is available here.
    Over five days, participants engaged in an intensive curriculum designed to deepen their understanding of the WTO’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The course covered the economic importance of services trade, domestic regulation, the impact of digital trade on economies’ trade performance, investment facilitation and environmental services. Participants were also able to analyze and formulate effective trade policies by gaining hands-on experience with analytical tools like the I-TIP database and services trade statistics.
    The programme included a mix of presentations, practical exercises and in-depth discussions on emerging trade in services issues. Participants were particularly engaged in sessions on the latest developments in digital trade and the regulatory challenges associated with services trade. Interactive sessions allowed participants to apply their know-how to real-case scenarios, reinforcing their capacity to navigate complex trade issues.
    Upon completing the course, Mr Hugo Ibarra said: “In my work at the Undersecretariat of Economic Affairs, which reports to Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I am frequently in contact with the WTO for notifications of trade policies and other issues linked to the fulfilment of Chile’s WTO commitments. I also regularly refer to the GATS in our negotiation process for trade agreements. For these reasons, this type of course plays a very important role in our daily work.”
    Mr Kutubo Jarju, a participant from The Gambia’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, said: “As a trade professional engaged in multilateral and regional trade negotiations, my primary expectation from this advanced course was to significantly deepen my expertise in the evolving services trade landscape. The course provided me with an enriched understanding of the current issues, challenges and opportunities of services trade, particularly in the context of global and regional agreements.”
    Ms Lavita Chan from Hong Kong, China’s Trade and Industry Department said: “I highly recommend the Advanced Trade in Services Course for government officials with services negotiation background and experience. Needless to say, the course contents were wide ranging, informative, up-to-date and inspirational. I was particularly impressed by the participants’ enthusiasm in sharing their points of view and domestic experience while the case studies and examples helped enrich our understanding and clarify complicated concepts. The participant-led reviews every morning were a very useful way to consolidate everything we learned and to promote teamwork.”
    The course was organized jointly by the WTO Trade in Services Division and the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation.
    List of participants
    ARGENTINA
    Ms Estefania Donna
    BAHRAIN
    Ms Meead Alansari
    BANGLADESH
    Mr Saif Uddin Ahammad
    BHUTAN
    Mr Choki Tshewang
    CABO VERDE
    Ms Ludmilde Filomena Celso Silva Fernandes Semedo
    CHILE
    Mr Hugo Ibarra
    CHINA
    Ms Yi WANG
    C�TE D’IVOIRE
    Ms Mariam Deme
    ECUADOR
    Ms Estefania Anais Mejia Ramos
    HONG KONG, CHINA
    Ms Mo Ying Chan
    JORDAN
    Mr Qusai Al-Tarawneh
    KENYA
    Ms Elizabeth Gathoni Miguda-Alila
    LAO PDR
    Mr Nongchith Khambounheuang
    MADAGASCAR
    Mr Fetra Herisoa Ramankirahina
    MOROCCO
    Mr Othmane Maktoum
    NICARAGUA
    Ms Yeseila Baca Cuadra
    PAKISTAN
    Ms Onsia Zafar
    PHILIPPINES
    Mr Anthony Aguirre
    REPUBLIC OF KOREA
    Ms Aeseon Kim
    SEYCHELLES
    Ms Demelza Tanisha Nathalie Valentin
    SRI LANKA
    Mr Premathilake Jayakody Batagolle Gedara
    SURINAME
    Ms Urtha Charlane Hoever
    CHINESE TAIPEI
    Ms Yun-Xuan Lin
    TANZANIA
    Ms Angelina Stephen Bwana
    THE GAMBIA
    Mr Kutubo Jarju
    TUNISIA
    Ms Noura Ben Mohamed
    UKRAINE
    Mr Vitaliy Kunatenko
    ZAMBIA
    Ms Mbewe Chikondi

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  • MIL-OSI Banking: Luigi Federico Signorini: Disaster risk financing – the role of insurance in new public-private partnerships

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Ladies and gentlemen,

    Once again we are seeing dramatic images of floods, damages and losses. The images that we just saw in the walk-in video for this conference are surely older, but could have been taken yesterday. Our hearts and thoughts are with those that have been hit, not just this time but also in the previous months, some repeatedly. We must hope that human life has been spared this time, although I understand that as of this morning some are still missing.

    This is another reminder of the seriousness of the climate issue. We cannot be in denial. The accelerating change in the Earth’s climate has increased the frequency and intensity of river and coastal floods, landslides, droughts and forest fires worldwide. Europe, in particular, is warming quite fast; according to Copernicus (the European satellite monitoring system), the average temperature for European land in August 2024 was more than 1.5°C above the 1991-2020 average for the same month. In addition to climate-related events, other natural disasters such as earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions and bradyseism can have a dramatic impact on the economy and society.

    The issue of natural disasters and, more generally, catastrophe risks, once confined to scholars of the ‘hard’ sciences, such as physicists and biologists, has become an area of concern for economists, sociologists and lawyers as well. As a consequence, one sees among other things more and more attempts at measuring the economic impact of natural events in a reliable way. The 2023 European State of the Climate Report estimates the direct damage to property generated in 2023 by floods, inundations and fires (disregarding, that is, indirect effects) at more than €13 billion, and the human toll at 151 deaths. Over the past few years, there has also been a growing attention in international fora to natural disasters as a potential source of systemic financial stability risk.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Ida Wolden Bache: Time to ease monetary policy is approaching

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Presentation accompanying the speech

    Chart 1: Policy rate held unchanged

    The Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 4.5%. Based on the Committee’s current assessment of the outlook, the policy rate will most likely be kept at that level to the end of the year.

    Norges Bank is tasked with keeping inflation low and stable. The operational target is inflation of close to 2 percent over time. We are also mandated to help keep employment as high as possible and to promote economic stability.

    After inflation surged a couple of years ago, we have raised the policy rate significantly, and since December last year the policy rate has been held at 4.5 percent. The interest rate has contributed to cooling down the economy and to dampening inflation.

    Many central banks in trading partner countries have started cutting policy rates. One might wonder why we are not reducing the policy rate now.

    Inflation has declined significantly from its peak but is still above our inflation target. The rapid decline in inflation observed in recent months is not expected to continue going forward. Further disinflation will be restrained by the krone depreciation combined with the high growth in business costs.

    A restrictive monetary policy is still needed to bring inflation down to target within a reasonable time horizon. The Committee is concerned with the possibility that if the policy rate is lowered prematurely, inflation could remain above target for too long. On the other hand, an overly tight monetary policy could contract the economy more than needed. When we set the policy rate, we have to balance these trade-offs.  

    Chart 2: Gradual policy rate reduction from next year

    Based on our current assessment of the outlook, the policy rate needs to be kept at today’s level for a period ahead. At the same time, we are approaching the time to lower interest rates. If the economy evolves as envisaged, we will maintain the policy rate at 4.5 percent to the end of the year, before it is gradually reduced from the first quarter of next year. The policy rate forecast is little changed but implies a slightly faster rate reduction through next year than our previous forecast published in June. 

    Let me say a few more words about the background for the rate decision and the Committee’s assessment.  

    Chart 3: Low growth in the Norwegian economy

    Growth in the Norwegian economy was low through last year and has remained weak this year. High inflation and the rise in interest rates have reduced household purchasing power and consumption, and residential construction has shown a sharp decline. Economic activity is being supported by public sector demand and heavy investment in the petroleum industry.

    Information from our regional network indicates that economic growth will pick up a little in the second half of this year. But there are wide differences across industries, with oil services expecting strong growth and the construction industry a continued decline.

    Over the past couple of years, the labour market has become less tight, and firms are finding it easier to fill their recruitment needs. Employment is high, but the share of the population employed has fallen a little. Unemployment has edged up from a low level.   

    Chart 4: Inflation has declined markedly from its peak

    At its highest, inflation was above 7 percent. According to last week’s data, inflation is now running at 2.6 percent. Excluding energy prices, which are quite volatile, inflation is a little higher than 3 percent. Inflation has been lower than we expected in June.

    International inflation has also fallen notably, and central bank rate cuts are now expected to be deeper and faster than before summer.

    Chart 5: Wage growth is high

    While wage growth is subsiding among many trading partner countries, it is still high in Norway. Wages increased by 5.2 percent last year, and a comparable increase is expected this year. We expect wage growth to moderate in the years ahead, but given weak productivity growth, business costs will continue to grow at a fast pace.

    Chart 6: The krone has depreciated

    The krone exchange rate has depreciated in recent years and is now weaker than at the time of the June monetary policy meeting. A weaker krone means an increase in prices for imported goods and services, and higher costs for firms that depend on imported intermediate goods. For the export industry, a weaker krone means increased profitability, which can lead to higher wage growth and, in turn, to higher inflation.  

    Movements in the krone exchange rate are determined by a wide range of conditions, in both Norway and internationally. This makes it difficult to explain all exchange rate movements, but we can safely say that the interest rate matters for the krone exchange rate. If we had not tightened monetary policy in recent years, the krone would have been weaker. Experience has also shown that the krone weakens when oil prices fall or, as we saw this summer, financial markets experience turbulence.

    Chart 7: Inflation will slow and unemployment edge up

    With the current policy rate path, inflation is projected to move down further and approach 2 percent towards the end of 2027. Unemployment will likely edge up to about the level prevailing before the pandemic.

    Many people have experienced tighter household budgets in recent years, but most people will find that their budgets will stretch further going forward. Interest expenses will still be high, but we expect wages to rise faster than prices, and the debt burden will be easier to bear.

    The economy may evolve differently than we now anticipate. If the outlook suggests that inflation will return to target faster or there is a more pronounced slowdown in the Norwegian economy, the policy rate may be lowered faster than currently envisaged. On the other hand, if the krone depreciates further or economic pressures increase, inflation could remain elevated for longer. A higher policy rate than currently envisaged may then be required.

    Inflation has slowed sharply. That’s welcome news, and now it’s important that we go the last mile of returning inflation back to the target. By maintaining confidence in the inflation target, we are better equipped to deal with new shocks and periods of turbulence in the future.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Nicolas Vincent: Monetary policy decision-making – behind the scenes

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Introduction

    Good morning. It’s a pleasure to be here with you today.

    I’ve done a lot of hiking, camping and skiing in the Eastern Townships. But this is the first time I’ve had a chance to spend time in Sherbrooke. I’m very much looking forward to spending the next two days in your lovely city.

    As Bruno mentioned, I’m a professor at HEC Montréal and an external Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada. As an external Deputy Governor, I am a full member of Governing Council. I participate in all discussions related to monetary policy and financial stability.

    The Bank’s aim in creating an external, part-time role was to get new perspectives from someone who isn’t from the world of central banks but still knows a thing or two about economics. Thankfully, my teaching experience and academic research have come in quite handy in my role at the Bank, as has my early-career work in the public service. Even with my experience, however, I’ve had to learn a lot since joining the Bank in March 2023, particularly about the process involved in making interest rate decisions.

    At the beginning of September this year, in light of recent progress in the fight against inflation, the Bank announced a third consecutive cut of 25 basis points, bringing the policy rate to 4¼%. It will likely come as no surprise to any of you that it’s more pleasant to announce cuts than it is to announce increases. In recent years, decisions by the Bank have been the subject of much attention, interest and debate. This is to be expected. The decisions have an impact on everyone, in many different ways, and we are well aware of that. We know that households are worried about the cost of living, their mortgage loan renewal, house prices, rent and the fact that it is getting harder to find a job. Given the importance of our decisions, they must not be taken lightly. And having been at the Bank for 18 months now, I can confirm that they are not. Interest rate decisions are based on an enormous amount of analysis and reflection.

    But how are decisions reached? What does the process look like exactly? Since becoming Deputy Governor, I have often been asked such questions. Generally speaking, there is considerable interest in and curiosity about our work and our responsibilities. That’s why the Bank puts so much effort into making monetary policy understandable for everyone by communicating it in clear and simple terms. You can find detailed information on the Bank’s website explaining our work and our decision-making process. We want people to understand what we do.

    Yet, for all our efforts, the truth is that most people know little about how we work and the steps we take in deciding whether to raise, maintain or lower the policy interest rate. That may even be the case for many of you here. And when I think about it, it’s not particularly surprising. Even as a macroeconomist, I knew little about the process before starting at the Bank.

    Today I’d like to take you behind the scenes and speak about what happens behind closed doors. What are the steps in the process? What sources of data do we use? How do we make our projections? I’ll also talk about the debates, the differences of opinion and the ways we reach a consensus. As you’ll see, making a decision on monetary policy is much more complicated than pushing a button, and getting a computer to spit out calculations and having everything fall into place. I’ll also talk about my own experiences, what’s surprised me and what I’ve learned along the way.

    Analysis and consultations

    First, I’d like to start with a quick review of what monetary policy is and does. At its core, the Bank’s mandate is to keep inflation low, stable and predictable, and centred on the 2% target. The Bank’s main tool for doing this is the policy rate. Changes to the policy rate affect several other interest rates in the economy, notably mortgage rates and rates for business loans. If the Bank raises the policy rate in response to high inflation, the cost of borrowing increases. This lowers demand because people have less money to spend on things like eating out or clothing, while businesses defer spending on projects. When economic activity slows, inflation goes down, which shows that monetary policy is working.

    While that seems simple in theory, in practice it is rather more complicated because the effects of our actions are not felt immediately. I have been a Deputy Governor for 18 months, which is the period needed to observe the full effects of monetary policy on inflation. And because we are always making decisions about the future, the Bank must rely heavily on economic forecasting.

    In addition, the impacts of Bank decisions are complex and uncertain. Much like a business that faces many unknowns when deciding to adopt a new technology, the Bank also must make choices in the face of considerable uncertainty. This is why it’s important to have good information and good advice.

    To get the best possible understanding of the economic situation, Governing Council members have access to an extremely large number of datasets, analyses and points of view. When I’m asked to summarize the work of a Deputy Governor, I often say that I am a big aggregator of information. I am part of a team whose job is to put together all the pieces of the puzzle to inform our decision-making. Today, I’d like to explain to you what that means in concrete terms.

    Every year, the Bank makes eight monetary policy decisions. That means eight times a year, the Bank must decide whether it will raise, maintain or lower the policy interest rate. Four of the eight decisions are accompanied by the Monetary Policy Report (MPR), published most recently in July. The MPR examines the global and Canadian economies in terms of production, spending, the labour market and, of course, inflation. It also includes the Bank’s projections for growth and inflation and the risks to the projection over a two-year period.

    The decision-making process begins about a month before the announcement date, when Bank staff present an economic projection to Governing Council. We call this Case A. It draws on the Bank’s macroeconomic models and surveys, its analysis of various sectors and components of the economy, and its assessment of financial stability and financial market activity. Since we don’t have a crystal ball, we draw on the latest data and use our projection models to look into the future.1 For several hours, Governing Council members debate the assumptions and risks to the projection as well as alternative case scenarios prepared by staff.

    About 10 days later, Bank advisors and economists present Case B, a revised projection incorporating the comments of Governing Council members and, if any, new developments that occurred since Case A. We draw on that projection to make our policy rate decision.

    When there is a rate announcement without an accompanying MPR-as was the case two weeks ago-many of the same steps are involved, although staff do not make new projections. They report on new data released since the last policy decision and on how the economy as a whole performed against expectations. Although the amount of information we have access to differs between announcements with and without an MPR, all decisions are equally important.

    Throughout the process, Statistics Canada’s data on inflation, gross domestic product and employment are an invaluable source of information to guide our decisions. But they also have limits. First, data tend to be aggregate, which can make it difficult to discern the full range of experiences Canadians are having. That is why we spend a lot of time diving deep into the data to analyze what concerns and affects people on a day-to-day basis: rent, house prices, mortgage renewal, the prices of gas and groceries, how long it takes to find a job, and so on. All these factors help us to predict the path of inflation in the months and years ahead.

    Second, hard data draw from the past. That is why the Bank conducts quarterly surveys on consumer expectations and the business outlook. The qualitative and forward-looking nature of these surveys allows us to discover different points of view and obtain a more nuanced portrait of the future path of economic activity. Some of you may even have participated in these surveys; if so, I’d like to thank you for the contribution you’ve made to making monetary policy.

    We also engage with the public through outreach activities. The Bank needs to hear from a variety of participants in the economy to understand what is happening on the ground. Meeting with businesses, community groups and other organizations gives us an opportunity to listen, learn and deepen our understanding of their situation. The knowledge we gain helps us interpret the statistical data and contributes to our projections. This outreach also gives us an opportunity to explain the role of the Bank to Canadians.

    This is exactly what I will be doing during my time in Sherbrooke. I’ll have the opportunity to participate in a round table with Entreprendre Sherbrooke, speak with university students and meet with local officials. Sometimes outreach activities even have unintended outcomes. Last spring, I took an outreach trip to  Rimouski, where I grew up. After I was interviewed by local media, some childhood friends I had not heard from in years reached out and messaged me!

    As an aside, I’d like to point out that while the Bank seeks out views from a broad range of stakeholders, it makes monetary policy decisions independently. This protects the Bank from short-term political objectives and pressures from special-interest groups. The independence of a central bank is even more important when difficult decisions must be made, as has been the case in recent years.

    The next step in the decision-making process is the risk and recommendations meeting, which takes place about a week before the announcement date. Advisors and staff from economics departments share their points of view and debate the implications of raising, maintaining or lowering the policy rate. This culminates in a round-table discussion where each person puts forward a recommendation and its rationale. As you can imagine, we are never short on opinions. While Governing Council is ultimately responsible for making the decision, the decision is really the product of an enormous team effort.

    Once the members of Governing Council have heard from the advisors and studied their analyses and recommendations, they meet in private to evaluate everything they’ve learned and come to a decision. Now, I’ll shed a bit of light on how that works.

    Deliberating the decision

    Before I talk about the deliberation process, I have to let you in on a little secret. At the Bank’s head office, behind a massive wooden door, there is a room I like to call the Chamber of Secrets. It’s formally known as the Rasminsky Room, after Louis Rasminsky, the Bank’s third governor. All discussions and decisions about the policy rate take place in this room.

    It’s a secure room where the blinds are always drawn, and access is controlled. From inside this room, no communication with the outside world is allowed, and the use of electronic devices is strictly regulated. When we say “private” deliberations, we really mean it! The Bank takes security very seriously-and with good reason. A leak could have serious consequences. Many stakeholders-financial market participants, in particular-are very eager to get news of the decision.

    Returning to the topic of our deliberations, once all the members of Governing Council are in the room, the Governor opens the meeting. The Governor acts as chair and shepherds the discussions. Each member is given the opportunity to present their views on economic developments in Canada and abroad, and on the outlook for growth and inflation. Another tidbit from behind the curtain: in Governing Council discussions, the Deputy Governors speak in reverse order of seniority, with newer members speaking first. This ensures their views are not influenced by those of more senior members. The Senior Deputy Governor speaks next, followed lastly by the Governor. They express their views, which leads to further discussions. We then go around the table again, with members presenting their opinions on monetary policy and debating the rate decision.

    The process is not set in stone. The content and format of our discussions are adapted to the situation and vary depending on our thinking about the economic environment and risk landscape. For example, when I started at the Bank in March 2023, a number of regional banks in the United States had just failed. Questions about financial stability were at the forefront of our discussions. In recent months, an important focus of our discussions has been the stickiness of inflation in prices for certain services, including shelter.

    But how is the decision actually reached after all of these deliberations? Unlike other central banks, such as the US Federal Reserve or the Bank of England, where members vote, the Bank of Canada makes decisions by consensus. Members must therefore all agree on the course of action, even if we had different points of view when we walked into the Rasminsky Room. And it might not come as a surprise that we do not always agree on everything.

    In fact, it’s completely normal that members have differences of opinion. After all, each member of Governing Council has distinct expertise stemming from their past experiences and educational background. But the diversity of our expertise is exactly what makes it possible to have detailed and constructive discussions that lead to informed decision-making.

    So, how do we arrive at a consensus despite our differences of opinion? Here, the organic nature of our deliberations plays a key role. At times, points raised by other members may lead us to fine-tune or rethink the way we’ve interpreted the data. Or a colleague may raise a point or highlight issues that others had not originally considered. In my opinion, the need to arrive at a consensus strengthens our decision-making process. We must carefully consider the diversity of opinions within Governing Council and discuss among ourselves to arrive at a common position.

    I should also mention that reaching a consensus does not mean that all members of Governing Council share the same point of view on the economic outlook or the path for interest rates in the coming months. It means that members come to an agreement about the best decision to make at a particular moment in time.2 And the truth is that as new data are published and new information comes to light, differences of opinion tend to become less pronounced.

    Whatever shape the deliberations take, I can assure you that everyone around the table is always very conscious of the weight of these decisions. I fully felt this weight myself in June 2023 when I participated in my second round of monetary policy deliberations.

    In the year before my arrival, the Bank had decisively and forcefully raised the interest rate from 0.25% to 4.5% to combat the spike in inflation. At the beginning of 2023, the Bank indicated it would pause to evaluate the effects of the increases on the economy and inflation. But data released between April and June 2023 showed that the economy had been more robust than expected in the first quarter of the year and that inflation had even increased slightly. Given the situation, we reached the conclusion that we had to again raise the interest rate. But at the end of our Friday afternoon meeting, the Governor said, “Let’s take the weekend and sleep on this decision and come back on Monday with clearer heads to discuss again.”

    Over the course of that weekend, I came to fully feel the weight of the responsibility that came with my new role. I’d had countless discussions about monetary policy with colleagues and students over the course of my career as an academic. But as Deputy Governor, I found the discussions were no longer abstract or theoretical. I came to understand that I was one of six people whose decision would directly impact borrowing costs for millions of people like you and for businesses like yours. Believe me when I say that the realization made my head spin a little; it was really quite humbling.

    Communicating the decision

    One thing that may surprise you-as it did me-is that Governing Council’s work does not end once the decision is made. Communicating the reasons that led to the decision is almost as important as the decision itself. The members of Governing Council work closely with the Bank’s communications team to develop key messages and draft the press release and opening statement for the press conference. If only you knew how much time we spend trying to find the best ways to convey our message and looking for just the right words-in both official languages.

    With time, I’ve come to understand that this is not always an easy task. For example, at the July decision, we said downside risks to inflation were becoming increasingly important in our deliberations. Some people interpreted this to mean that we believed downside risks had strengthened. What we intended to communicate, however, was that, with the 2% target in sight, we gave increased consideration to the risk that inflation could fall below the target.

    As you can see, differences in interpretation can be very subtle, which makes choosing the right words all the more important. I’d like to think that all the years of explaining complex concepts to my students has given me a lot of practice in this regard.

    Even though I’ve been in this role for only a short time, I’ve been able to appreciate how the Bank’s approach to communication is constantly evolving. In the past, press conferences were held only when the rate announcement was accompanied by a Monetary Policy Report. Starting this year, all eight rate announcements now feature a press conference. This gives the Bank the opportunity to share its assessment of the economic outlook with the public and explain the reasoning that led to the rate decision. Following the decision, Governing Council members host information sessions and regularly give interviews with the media.

    Since January 2023, a summary of deliberations is published online two weeks after every decision. This document is a record of Governing Council’s assessment of the economic environment and the upside and downside risks to inflation. It also highlights where opinions converged and the topics that generated the most debate among members. The summary of deliberations for the September decision was published yesterday, in fact.

    Lastly, the Bank is always looking for new ways to communicate and for new channels to reach the widest audience possible. In fact, the Bank has accounts on YouTube, X, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Be sure to follow us.

    Conclusion

    It’s time for me to wrap up. I’ve now participated in 12 rate decisions. Since arriving at the Bank, I’ve always felt my experiences and external point of view have been useful to my work and valued by the other members of Governing Council and the organization as a whole.

    I genuinely feel I’m contributing to the mission of a rigorous and conscientious institution that is mindful that its credibility is directly linked to the effectiveness of its actions.

    Credibility must be earned. The Bank’s is founded on the trust that Canadians place in us and our actions. Even when those actions are difficult and have direct impacts, Canadians understand that we are always guided by our resolve to keep inflation low, stable and predictable.

    We are fully conscious of the responsibilities the Bank has toward all Canadians. To maintain the public’s trust, we must be rigorous, professional, humble, honest and transparent.

    It is to contribute to this transparency that I’ve spoken to you today about the Bank’s decision-making process. This process has allowed the Bank to weather many past storms, from recessions to economic crises and even a pandemic. And this process will keep us true to our promise to all Canadians: to bring inflation back to target and keep it there. That will always be the best way for the Bank to support the Canadian economy.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Passing of the Crown Coin revealed ahead of November release

    Source: Danmarks Nationalbank

    The final design of the Passing of the Crown coin, marking King Frederik X succeeding Queen Margrethe II, was revealed after Danmarks Nationalbank presented the coin to the monarch.

    The Passing of the Crown Coin is a 20-kroner coin, which will be introduced into general circulation via stores and banks in early November 2024.

    Denmark has a long tradition of issuing commemorative coins to celebrate special events in the royal family, such as anniversaries.The previous time a Passing of the Crown Coin was issued was in 1972, when Queen Margrethe II became monarch following the death of her father King Frederik IX.

    The design of the new Passing of the Crown Coin follows the tradition of previous issuances, as one side features a portrait of King Frederik X in a right-facing profile, while the reverse features Queen Margrethe II, also in a right-facing profile. Both portraits were created by sculptor Eva Hjorth. The coin was designed by Danmarks Nationalbank’s Head of Design, Jeanette Skov Jensen.

    A total of one million Passing of the Crown Coins have been produced. Most of them will enter circulation as regular coins, but some will be made available to the public as collectors’ versions. These will be available to purchase via coin and stamp dealer nordfrim.dk on 1 November 2024. However, It will be possible to pre-order the coin as of

    today.

    The Passing of the Crown Coin will circulate alongside existing coins, which remain legal tender.

    Regular circulation coins featuring King Frederik X are expected to be released during the second half of 2025. More information about this will be available on Danmarks Nationalbank’s website in 2025. These coins will also be circulated alongside coins that are currently in circulation.

    You can see the Passing of the Crown Coin and read more about it at nationalbanken.dk.

    Press enquiries can be directed to Press and Communications Officer Peter Levring on +45 2620 1809.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Joachim Nagel: Why do we need Europe?

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Check against delivery 

    1 Global challenges need global answers

    We are living in a period of significant change. Many distinct forces are contributing to this change. Examples here include global warming and the switch towards carbon-free energy, progress in digitalisation and AI, as well as geo-economic factors and demographic developments.

    What do all the changes I’ve mentioned have in common? They affect humanity at the global level. It therefore does not seem useful to limit one’s attention to national solutions. That said, the European elections have shown us that many voters backed parties calling for greater national sovereignty or even nationalism – as well as less Europe. The Brexit referendum, eight years ago, can be seen as an example of this trend. As, too, can the recent German regional elections.

    Why is this? Global changes often lead to global challenges, and sometimes to global crises. This means a lot of complexity. Those who are in charge are responsible for properly explaining this complexity. If we don’t assume this responsibility, simple political messages may trump complex ones. And there is no doubt that politics at the European level are complex. Just think of the legislative process behind the new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive – a directive that sets rules for firms to mitigate their negative impact on human rights and the environment. Or the slow progress that has been made regarding the capital markets union – a topic I will return to later.

    However, as the current major challenges are global in nature, national responses alone will not resolve them. Action is needed on a global scale. Take the pandemic, for example. Overcoming this required unprecedented vaccine research, large-scale production and global distribution. Or consider the climate crisis. While Germany can lead by example in terms of decarbonising its economy, it cannot solve the climate crisis alone. As for European countries, this means that we have to work on European responses to the current challenges. This holds true for Germany, too – despite it being one of the largest economies in the world. Germany should see itself as part of a wider European team – a team that can provide greater stability given the current geopolitical risks. Take the increasing global trade restrictions, for example. Between the two main global players, the United States and China, only a unified European approach stands a chance of defending European interests. This view is shared by almost three-quarters of Europeans surveyed at the beginning of this year.1

    2 Europe is not a weak spot – it is a source of strength

    It is true that open democratic societies tend to have complex and cumbersome decision-making processes. The more fragmented the political landscape, the more difficult it becomes. This already holds for the national level – as can currently be seen in the case of France and Germany. At the European level, complexity is even greater. There, agreeing on a compromise is like an art in itself. However, democratic decision-making processes have one great benefit. They integrate the diverse interests and preferences of the people.

    In fact, a significant majority of EU citizens are satisfied with the way democracy works in the EU.2 And the share of people who have a positive image of Europe is nearly twice as big as the share of people who have a negative one.3 This might well reflect an observation made by the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset at the beginning of the last century. He noted that four-fifths of our intellectual property stem from our common European heritage.4 People seem to have a good understanding of what “European” means: the common ground of our liberal, democratic societies and the intellectual achievements we have made.

    Once we realise these strengths of Europe, we can use them to move forward, to manage the changes I mentioned at the outset of my speech. Europe does not have an analytical deficit, but a deficit in taking action. For example: A deeper single market could help seize the opportunities of digitalisation more fully. And a unified European approach to decarbonisation could serve as an example and help the formation of larger climate clubs. These clubs derive mutual benefits from sharing the costs of producing less CO2-emissions. The members of such a voluntary club have incentives to adhere to its rules as long as the gains from the club are sufficiently large.5

    3 What it will take to move forward

    And what will it take to move forward? As President of the Bundesbank and as a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, I am doing all I can within my remit. First and foremost, I am striving to restore price stability. This is because price stability is a crucial requirement for economic development and for the welfare of our societies. And I am also supporting measures that help Europe to act. It is in this context that I return to the topic of the capital markets union. The capital markets union can be an important means of providing companies with the necessary funding to manage change. This includes funding for new scientific knowledge and for innovations to help us thrive in our future environment. Europe is relatively good at research.6 And research is a crucial basis for innovation. However, a lack of available capital often prevents young innovative companies from growing. A key reason is that capital markets in Europe are still highly fragmented and rather underdeveloped compared to those in the United States, for example. Although market structures are not fully comparable, venture capital investment may serve as an example here. Relative to GDP, its size in European countries is less than one-tenth the size in the US.7 A European capital markets union would give firms better access to risk capital in Europe – notably young firms in their start-up and scale-up phase, and it would provide better exit options. By mobilising more private capital, the capital markets union could improve opportunities for economic growth. And it could foster much needed investments in Europe’s digital and sustainability transformation.

    It is a real challenge to make progress at the European level and in the 27 Member States on the legal initiatives necessary to realise the capital markets union. But if we agree that the changes we see are global in nature, then we should not try to deal with them at the national level. We should strive for multilateral solutions. Here in Europe, the European Union provides a wonderful opportunity to find common approaches that many around the world can subsequently gather behind.

    I am optimistic that the new European Commission will build momentum to move forward – not least with respect to the capital markets union, which was recently given fresh impetus by Member States’ political leaders. We have the potential to rejuvenate the European idea. A thriving research and innovation ecosystem will support that goal – with stable prices, sufficient financing opportunities and steady growth. Let us all do what we can to strengthen Europe at the current juncture. 

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: India: Death penalty never the solution to crime and violence against women – Amnesty International

    Source: Amnesty International

    Responding to the Aprajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill adopted today by the West Bengal state government that introduces the death penalty for the offence of rape when it results in the victim’s death or leaves them “in a vegetative state”, Aakar Patel, Chair of Board at Amnesty International said:

    “The authorities must deliver justice and accountability for the horrific rape and murder of the woman doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and hospital in Kolkata in August. However, the death penalty is never the solution, nor it would offer a ‘quick fix’ to prevent violence against women. There is no evidence that it has a unique deterrent effect. Even the Justice Verma Committee that was constituted in 2012 to reform the laws and criminal justice practices relating to crimes of sexual violence, including rape in India and Law Commission of India have opposed the death penalty in cases of violence against women.

    “What is actually needed is far-reaching procedural and institutional reform that deals with the root causes of crime and put emphasis on its prevention. Authorities in West Bengal and across India must fully implement recommendations made by the Justice Verma Committee, including police training and reform, preventive measures, and addressing how reports of sexual violence are registered and investigated. These are important first steps that will in the long run make India safer, including for women.

    “We urge the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a swift and thorough investigation into this appalling case and bring those responsible to justice without recourse to death penalty. Undue delays will further the climate of fear, impunity and uncertainty.”

    Background

    On 9 August, a 31-year-old trainee doctor was raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical college and hospital in Kolkata, capital city of the state of West Bengal in eastern India. The events sparked a wave of protests across the country.

    On 13 August, the Kolkata High Court reassigned the investigation of the case from the police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), citing the lack of significant progress and possibility of destruction of evidence. The court also noted serious lapses on the part of the hospital administration.

    Today, the West Bengal government adopted the Aprajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill that amends the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. The amendments tighten the punishment for various rape offences in the state.

    Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases and under any circumstances, regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to carry out the execution. The organization considers the death penalty a violation of the right to life as recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –