BETA


2014/0807(CNS) European Central Bank (ECB): powers to impose sanctions

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead ECON SWINBURNE Kay (icon: ECR ECR) FERBER Markus (icon: PPE PPE), MAVRIDES Costas (icon: S&D S&D), VAN NIEUWENHUIZEN Cora (icon: ALDE ALDE), GIEGOLD Sven (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
TFEU 129-p4

Events

2015/02/03
   Final act published in Official Journal
Details

PURPOSE: to adapt Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions in case of a breach of its regulations or decisions.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Regulation (EU) 2015/159 amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions.

CONTENT: this Regulation adapts the framework set out in Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 for the purposes of monetary policy, establishing a regime for the imposition of sanctions by the ECB relating to the performance of its supervisory tasks under the single supervisory mechanism ( Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 ).

The main amendments have been made to Regulation (EC) No 2532/98:

General principles and scope : it is stipulated that this Regulation shall apply to the imposition by the ECB of sanctions on undertakings for failure to comply with obligations arising from ECB decisions or regulations.

The ECB shall publish any decision imposing sanctions on an undertaking in case of a breach of an ECB regulation or decision, in the supervisory field, whether or not such decision has been appealed. The publication shall include information on the type and nature of the breach and the identity of the undertaking concerned, unless publication in this manner would either jeopardise the stability of the financial markets or an ongoing criminal investigation; or cause, in so far as can be determined, disproportionate damage to the undertaking concerned.

The ECB shall ensure that information published remains on its official website for at least five years.

Upper limits of sanctions : in the case of infringements relating to decisions and regulations adopted by the ECB in the exercise of its supervisory tasks, the limits within which the ECB may impose fines and periodic penalty payments shall be as follows:

for fines , the upper limit shall be twice the amount of the profits gained or losses avoided because of the infringement where these can be determined, or 10% of the total annual turnover of the undertaking; for periodic penalty payments , the upper limit shall be 5% of the average daily turnover per day of infringement. Periodic penalty payments may be imposed in respect of a maximum period of six months from the date stipulated in the decision imposing the periodic penalty payment.

Procedural rules : where the ECB considers that there is reason to suspect that one or more breaches of an ECB regulation or decision are being or have been committed, the ECB shall exercise the relevant investigations .

On completion of an investigation and before a proposal for a complete draft decision is prepared and submitted to the Supervisory Board, the ECB shall inform the undertaking concerned of its right to make submissions in writing to the ECB on the factual results and the objections raised against the entity. It shall set a reasonable time limit for making such submissions. The ECB may invite the undertaking concerned to attend an oral hearing .

Specific time limits for sanctions : the right to take a decision to impose a sanction in case of a breach of an ECB decision or regulation relating to its supervisory tasks, shall expire five years after the infringement occurred or, in the case of a continued infringement, five years after the infringement ceased.

The limitation period shall be interrupted with effect from the date on which the action is notified to the supervised entity concerned. Each interruption shall cause the time limit to recommence. However, the time limit shall not exceed a period of 10 years after the infringement occurred or, in the case of a continued infringement, 10 years after the infringement ceased.

The limitation period for the enforcement of sanctions shall be suspended : (i) until the deadline for payment of the imposed sanction has passed; (ii) if enforcement of payment of the imposed sanction is suspended pursuant to a decision of the Governing Council or of the Court of Justice.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 4.2.2015.

2015/01/27
   EP/CSL - Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
2015/01/27
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2015/01/27
   CSL - Council Meeting
2014/12/18
   EC - For information
Details

The Commission issues a favourable opinion regarding the initiative of the ECB to recommend amendments to Council Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 1998 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions.

In general terms , the Commission suggests the following changes:

· Since the Council Sanctions Regulation is based on Article 132(3) TFEU, it can only deal with infringements of ECB regulations and decisions , not with infringements to (other) directly applicable acts of Union law.

· The interaction between relevant provisions of the SSM Regulation, the Council Sanctions Regulation and Regulation (EU) No 468/2014 of the European Central Bank establishing the framework for cooperation within the Single Supervisory Mechanism between the European Central Bank and national competent authorities and with national designated authorities (‘SSM Framework Regulation’) deserves to be further clarified.

In specific terms , the Commission draws attention to the following points:

the need to ensure consistency and to create a clear and comprehensive framework for publication of sanctions for infringements of ECB regulations and decisions; the ECB recommends that for periodic penalty payments the upper limit is 5 % of the average daily turnover per day of infringement. The reasons for this choice should at least be explained in the recitals of the Council Regulation; the recommendation provides a definition of annual turnover that does not correspond to the definitions in the SSM Regulation and provisions of CRD IV that apply to the imposition of administrative pecuniary penalties for the breach of directly applicable Union law. Since such divergent definitions could lead to different interpretations, the Commission would suggest that the provision is consistent with both the SSM Regulation and CRD IV; the Regulation should state that by way of derogation from Article 4, the right to take a decision to impose a sanction with regard to infringements of decisions and regulations adopted by the ECB in the exercise of its supervisory tasks, shall expire five years after the infringement occurred or, in the case of continuing or repeated infringements, five years after the infringement ceased; in order to provide more legal certainty for undertakings, but also for the ECB itself, the interruption of the limitation period should be linked to an objective moment that can be clearly identified. This could, for instance, be the opening of an infringement procedure or the formal opening of an investigation that is notified to the undertaking concerned. the drafting of the provision ensuring that in certain situations the limitation period in Article 4 is automatically extended should be clarified; lastly, the provisions regulating the time limits for enforcement of payment or payments terms and conditions should be restructured to stipulate what the limitation period is and when this period starts to run and only then stipulate in which situation the limitation period is interrupted.

2014/11/26
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2014/11/26
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 361 votes to 118, with 223 abstentions, in the framework of a special legislative procedure (Parliament’s consultation), a legislative resolution on the draft Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions.

Parliament approved the draft proposed in the recommendation of the European Central Bank (ECB) as amended:

Publication of administrative penalties :

after notification to the undertaking concerned, the ECB shall, according to a transparent procedure and rules which it shall make public, publish, as a general rule without undue delay , any decision imposing on an undertaking administrative pecuniary penalties for breaches of directly applicable Union law and sanctions for breaches of ECB regulations or decisions, provided that all legal means of appeal against such a decision have been exhausted; where the ECB considers that immediate publication of a decision would jeopardise the stability of financial markets or be disproportionate considering the degree of severity of the administrative pecuniary penalty or sanction imposed on an undertaking, it shall have the discretion to delay the publication of the decision until three years after the date on which the decision was taken; upon request the ECB shall hold confidential oral discussions behind closed doors with the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the competent committee of the European Parliament concerning such cases. The ECB shall provide a justification for the delay in an annex to the published decision.

Division of competences between the ECB and the national competent authorities : in order to avoid conflicts of interest between authorities, Members recommended introducing, in the ECB Recommendation, an explicit overall delineation of responsibilities : without prejudice to their other specific competences derived from national law, the national competent authorities remain competent to impose administrative penalties but are to only impose such penalties on credit institutions directly supervised by the ECB if the ECB requires them to initiate proceedings for this purpose.

Proceeds from sanctions : Parliament noted that the proceeds from sanctions imposed by the ECB in the exercise of its supervisory tasks, including the collection of statistical information, shall belong to the Single Resolution Fund .

Time limits for administrative penalties : in its Recommendation, the ECB proposes that the right to take a decision to impose an administrative penalty on the infringement case expires five years after the infringement occurred. Members suggested reducing the five year period to a three year period which starts to run from the date on which the decision was taken to initiate infringement procedures, rather than the date on which the infringement occurred.

Although the ECB recommends that the time limit shall not exceed a period of ten years after the infringement occurred, Members suggested that the time limit shall not exceed a period of seven years after the date on which the decision to initiate an infringement procedure was taken or, in the case of a continued infringement, seven years after the infringement ceased.

The resolution provides guidance as to which types of actions by the ECB should cause the limitation periods to be interrupted.

Dialogue with supervisors outside the Union : in light of the globalisation of banking services and the increased importance of international standards, the ECB should, in association with the competent authorities of participating Member States, establish a regular dialogue with supervisors outside the Union to foster international coordination and to agree on shared principles in the imposition and enforcement of sanctions.

Documents
2014/11/25
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2014/11/12
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
Details

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs adopted, in the framework of a special legislative procedure (Parliament’s consultation), the report by Kay SWINBURNE (ECR, UK) on the draft Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions.

The committee approved the draft proposed in the recommendation of the European Central Bank (ECB) as amended:

Publication of administrative penalties : Members suggested obliging the ECB as a general rule to publish without undue delay its decisions to impose on an undertaking administrative pecuniary penalties for breaches of directly applicable Union law and sanctions for breaches of ECB regulations or decisions, both in the supervisory and non-supervisory fields or until all legal means of appeal have been exhausted.

Where the ECB deems that immediate publication of a decision would jeopardise the stability of financial markets or be disproportionate, considering the degree of severity of the administrative pecuniary penalty or sanction imposed on an undertaking, it should have the discretion to delay the publication of the decision until three years after the date on which the decision was taken.

Upon request the ECB should hold confidential oral discussions behind closed doors with the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the competent committee of the European Parliament concerning such cases. The ECB should provide a justification for the delay in an annex to the published decision.

Division of competences between the ECB and the national competent authorities : in order to avoid conflicts of interest between authorities, Members recommended introducing, in the ECB Recommendation, an explicit overall delineation of responsibilities : without prejudice to their other specific competences derived from national law, the national competent authorities remain competent to impose administrative penalties but are to only impose such penalties on credit institutions directly supervised by the ECB if the ECB requires them to initiate proceedings for this purpose.

Time limits for administrative penalties : in its Recommendation, the ECB proposes that the right to take a decision to impose an administrative penalty on the infringement case expires five years after the infringement occurred. Members suggested reducing the five year period to a three year period which starts to run from the date on which the decision was taken to initiate infringement procedures, rather than the date on which the infringement occurred.

Although the ECB recommends that the time limit shall not exceed a period of ten years after the infringement occurred, Members suggested that the time limit shall not exceed a period of seven years after the date on which the decision to initiate an infringement procedure was taken or, in the case of a continued infringement, seven years after the infringement ceased.

Lastly, the report provides guidance as to which types of actions by the ECB should cause the limitation periods to be interrupted.

Documents
2014/11/11
   EP - Vote in committee
2014/10/21
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2014/09/17
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2014/07/22
   EP - SWINBURNE Kay (ECR) appointed as rapporteur in ECON
2014/07/14
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2014/06/11
   EC - Legislative proposal published
Details

PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions in case of a breach of its regulations or decisions.

PROPOSED ACT: Recommendation for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the Council adopts the act after consulting the European Parliament but without being obliged to follow its opinion.

BACKGROUND: Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 specifies the limits and conditions under which the European Central Bank (ECB) is entitled to impose fines or periodic penalty payments on undertakings for failure to comply with obligations under its regulations and decisions.

The scope of the ECB’s powers to impose sanctions was extended by Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 . This Regulation entitles the ECB to impose on the credit institutions it supervises: (a) administrative pecuniary penalties when these institutions breach a requirement under directly applicable Union law; and (b) sanctions in the event of a breach of an ECB regulation or decision.

Against this background, it is of particular importance to establish a coherent regime for the imposition by the ECB of all administrative penalties relating to the performance of its supervisory tasks under Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013. Moreover, certain rules contained in Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 differ from those laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013. These relate in particular to the upper limits of fines and periodic penalty payments, procedural rules, and the limitation periods laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2532/98.

Taking account of the experience gained following several years of application of Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 in the various fields of competence of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the fact that the scope of the ECB’s powers to impose sanctions was extended, the ECB suggests making certain amendments to Regulation (EC) No 2532/98.

CONTENT: in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 129(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the ECB recommends making the following amendments to Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 :

inserting a new Article to define some general principles applying to administrative penalties imposed by the ECB in relation to its supervisory tasks and sanctions imposed in relation to its non-supervisory tasks and specify the scope of the different provisions applying to them;

· inserting new Articles concerning the regime applicable to administrative penalties imposed by the ECB in the exercise of its supervisory tasks. This is to ensure that a single regime applies to all ECB administrative penalties imposed in the supervisory field, while also taking into account the rules laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013;

making additional amendments to ensure that the principles and procedures governing the imposition of sanctions laid down in Articles 2 to 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 are compatible with those governing the imposition by the ECB of administrative penalties in the exercise of its supervisory tasks under Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013.

Documents

Documents

Activities

Votes

A8-0028/2014 - Kay Swinburne - Résolution législative #

2014/11/26 Outcome: +: 361, 0: 223, -: 118
DE FR PL ES RO BE BG HR HU LT NL FI AT SE SI LV SK CZ EE PT LU DK MT IE GB CY EL IT
Total
91
69
48
49
30
18
16
10
20
11
25
12
17
19
8
8
13
20
6
19
5
13
6
9
67
5
20
67
icon: PPE PPE
209
2

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg PPE

3

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Cyprus PPE

1
icon: ALDE ALDE
64

Romania ALDE

3

Croatia ALDE

2

Austria ALDE

For (1)

1

Slovenia ALDE

For (1)

1

Estonia ALDE

3

Luxembourg ALDE

For (1)

1

Denmark ALDE

3

Ireland ALDE

For (1)

1

United Kingdom ALDE

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
46

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Croatia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Hungary Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Lithuania Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

2

Finland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Austria Verts/ALE

2

Slovenia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Estonia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

United Kingdom Verts/ALE

5
icon: ECR ECR
65

Bulgaria ECR

2

Lithuania ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Netherlands ECR

2

Finland ECR

2

Latvia ECR

For (1)

1

Slovakia ECR

3

Czechia ECR

2

Greece ECR

Against (1)

1
icon: S&D S&D
180

Belgium S&D

3

Croatia S&D

For (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Hungary S&D

Against (1)

4

Lithuania S&D

2

Netherlands S&D

3

Finland S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

Abstain (1)

1

Latvia S&D

Abstain (1)

1

Czechia S&D

4

Estonia S&D

For (1)

1
3

Malta S&D

3

Ireland S&D

Abstain (1)

1

Cyprus S&D

2

Greece S&D

3
icon: NI NI
46

Germany NI

Against (1)

2

Poland NI

2

Belgium NI

Abstain (1)

1
3

Netherlands NI

3

Latvia NI

1
icon: EFDD EFDD
45

France EFDD

Against (1)

1

Poland EFDD

1

Lithuania EFDD

2

Sweden EFDD

2

Czechia EFDD

Against (1)

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
46

France GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

3

Netherlands GUE/NGL

3

Finland GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Sweden GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Czechia GUE/NGL

2

Portugal GUE/NGL

3

Denmark GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Ireland GUE/NGL

3

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2

Italy GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

3
AmendmentsDossier
17 2014/0807(CNS)
2014/10/21 ECON 17 amendments...
source: 539.837

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

committees/0/shadows/3
name
MATIAS Marisa
group
European United Left - Nordic Green Left
abbr
GUE/NGL
docs/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE537.491
New
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/ECON-PR-537491_EN.html
docs/1/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE539.837
New
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/ECON-AM-539837_EN.html
events/1/type
Old
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
New
Committee referral announced in Parliament
events/2/type
Old
Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
New
Vote in committee
events/3/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2014-0028_EN.html
New
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2014-0028_EN.html
events/4/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20141125&type=CRE
New
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE-8-2014-11-25-TOC_EN.html
events/6
date
2014-11-26T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament
body
EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2014-0062_EN.html title: T8-0062/2014
summary
events/6
date
2014-11-26T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
body
EP
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2014-0062_EN.html title: T8-0062/2014
summary
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Economic and Monetary Affairs
committee
ECON
rapporteur
name: SWINBURNE Kay date: 2014-07-22T00:00:00 group: European Conservatives and Reformists abbr: ECR
shadows
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Economic and Monetary Affairs
committee
ECON
date
2014-07-22T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: SWINBURNE Kay group: European Conservatives and Reformists abbr: ECR
shadows
events/3/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2014-0028&language=EN
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2014-0028_EN.html
events/6/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2014-0062
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2014-0062_EN.html
activities
  • date: 2014-06-11T00:00:00 docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=10896%2F14&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC type: Legislative proposal published title: 10896/2014 body: EC commission: type: Legislative proposal published
  • date: 2014-07-14T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP shadows: group: EPP name: FERBER Markus group: S&D name: MAVRIDES Costas group: ALDE name: VAN NIEUWENHUIZEN Cora group: GUE/NGL name: MATIAS Marisa group: Verts/ALE name: GIEGOLD Sven responsible: True committee: ECON date: 2014-07-22T00:00:00 committee_full: Economic and Monetary Affairs rapporteur: group: ECR name: SWINBURNE Kay
  • date: 2014-11-11T00:00:00 body: EP type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP shadows: group: EPP name: FERBER Markus group: S&D name: MAVRIDES Costas group: ALDE name: VAN NIEUWENHUIZEN Cora group: GUE/NGL name: MATIAS Marisa group: Verts/ALE name: GIEGOLD Sven responsible: True committee: ECON date: 2014-07-22T00:00:00 committee_full: Economic and Monetary Affairs rapporteur: group: ECR name: SWINBURNE Kay
  • body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2014-0028&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading title: A8-0028/2014 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP shadows: group: EPP name: FERBER Markus group: S&D name: MAVRIDES Costas group: ALDE name: VAN NIEUWENHUIZEN Cora group: GUE/NGL name: MATIAS Marisa group: Verts/ALE name: GIEGOLD Sven responsible: True committee: ECON date: 2014-07-22T00:00:00 committee_full: Economic and Monetary Affairs rapporteur: group: ECR name: SWINBURNE Kay date: 2014-11-12T00:00:00
  • date: 2014-11-25T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20141125&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament body: EP type: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2014-11-26T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=24877&l=en type: Results of vote in Parliament title: Results of vote in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2014-0062 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T8-0062/2014 body: EP type: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2015-01-27T00:00:00 body: CSL type: Council Meeting council: Economic and Financial Affairs ECOFIN meeting_id: 3366
  • date: 2015-01-27T00:00:00 body: EP type: End of procedure in Parliament
  • date: 2015-01-27T00:00:00 body: EP/CSL type: Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
  • date: 2015-02-03T00:00:00 type: Final act published in Official Journal docs: url: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32015R0159 title: Regulation 2015/159 url: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2015:027:TOC title: OJ L 027 03.02.2015, p. 0001
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Economic and Monetary Affairs
committee
ECON
date
2014-07-22T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: SWINBURNE Kay group: European Conservatives and Reformists abbr: ECR
shadows
committees/0
body
EP
shadows
responsible
True
committee
ECON
date
2014-07-22T00:00:00
committee_full
Economic and Monetary Affairs
rapporteur
group: ECR name: SWINBURNE Kay
council
  • body: CSL type: Council Meeting council: Economic and Financial Affairs ECOFIN meeting_id: 3366 url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=SMPL&ROWSPP=25&RESULTSET=1&NRROWS=500&DOC_LANCD=EN&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC&CONTENTS=3366*&MEET_DATE=27/01/2015 date: 2015-01-27T00:00:00
docs
  • date: 2014-09-17T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE537.491 title: PE537.491 type: Committee draft report body: EP
  • date: 2014-10-21T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE539.837 title: PE539.837 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP
  • date: 2014-12-18T00:00:00 docs: url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2014:461:TOC title: OJ C 461 20.12.2014, p. 0001 title: N8-0103/2014 summary: The Commission issues a favourable opinion regarding the initiative of the ECB to recommend amendments to Council Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 1998 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions. In general terms , the Commission suggests the following changes: · Since the Council Sanctions Regulation is based on Article 132(3) TFEU, it can only deal with infringements of ECB regulations and decisions , not with infringements to (other) directly applicable acts of Union law. · The interaction between relevant provisions of the SSM Regulation, the Council Sanctions Regulation and Regulation (EU) No 468/2014 of the European Central Bank establishing the framework for cooperation within the Single Supervisory Mechanism between the European Central Bank and national competent authorities and with national designated authorities (‘SSM Framework Regulation’) deserves to be further clarified. In specific terms , the Commission draws attention to the following points: the need to ensure consistency and to create a clear and comprehensive framework for publication of sanctions for infringements of ECB regulations and decisions; the ECB recommends that for periodic penalty payments the upper limit is 5 % of the average daily turnover per day of infringement. The reasons for this choice should at least be explained in the recitals of the Council Regulation; the recommendation provides a definition of annual turnover that does not correspond to the definitions in the SSM Regulation and provisions of CRD IV that apply to the imposition of administrative pecuniary penalties for the breach of directly applicable Union law. Since such divergent definitions could lead to different interpretations, the Commission would suggest that the provision is consistent with both the SSM Regulation and CRD IV; the Regulation should state that by way of derogation from Article 4, the right to take a decision to impose a sanction with regard to infringements of decisions and regulations adopted by the ECB in the exercise of its supervisory tasks, shall expire five years after the infringement occurred or, in the case of continuing or repeated infringements, five years after the infringement ceased; in order to provide more legal certainty for undertakings, but also for the ECB itself, the interruption of the limitation period should be linked to an objective moment that can be clearly identified. This could, for instance, be the opening of an infringement procedure or the formal opening of an investigation that is notified to the undertaking concerned. the drafting of the provision ensuring that in certain situations the limitation period in Article 4 is automatically extended should be clarified; lastly, the provisions regulating the time limits for enforcement of payment or payments terms and conditions should be restructured to stipulate what the limitation period is and when this period starts to run and only then stipulate in which situation the limitation period is interrupted. type: For information body: EC
events
  • date: 2014-06-11T00:00:00 type: Legislative proposal published body: EC docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=10896%2F14&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC title: 10896/2014 summary: PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions in case of a breach of its regulations or decisions. PROPOSED ACT: Recommendation for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the Council adopts the act after consulting the European Parliament but without being obliged to follow its opinion. BACKGROUND: Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 specifies the limits and conditions under which the European Central Bank (ECB) is entitled to impose fines or periodic penalty payments on undertakings for failure to comply with obligations under its regulations and decisions. The scope of the ECB’s powers to impose sanctions was extended by Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 . This Regulation entitles the ECB to impose on the credit institutions it supervises: (a) administrative pecuniary penalties when these institutions breach a requirement under directly applicable Union law; and (b) sanctions in the event of a breach of an ECB regulation or decision. Against this background, it is of particular importance to establish a coherent regime for the imposition by the ECB of all administrative penalties relating to the performance of its supervisory tasks under Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013. Moreover, certain rules contained in Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 differ from those laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013. These relate in particular to the upper limits of fines and periodic penalty payments, procedural rules, and the limitation periods laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2532/98. Taking account of the experience gained following several years of application of Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 in the various fields of competence of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the fact that the scope of the ECB’s powers to impose sanctions was extended, the ECB suggests making certain amendments to Regulation (EC) No 2532/98. CONTENT: in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 129(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the ECB recommends making the following amendments to Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 : inserting a new Article to define some general principles applying to administrative penalties imposed by the ECB in relation to its supervisory tasks and sanctions imposed in relation to its non-supervisory tasks and specify the scope of the different provisions applying to them; · inserting new Articles concerning the regime applicable to administrative penalties imposed by the ECB in the exercise of its supervisory tasks. This is to ensure that a single regime applies to all ECB administrative penalties imposed in the supervisory field, while also taking into account the rules laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013; making additional amendments to ensure that the principles and procedures governing the imposition of sanctions laid down in Articles 2 to 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 are compatible with those governing the imposition by the ECB of administrative penalties in the exercise of its supervisory tasks under Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013.
  • date: 2014-07-14T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2014-11-11T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2014-11-12T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2014-0028&language=EN title: A8-0028/2014 summary: The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs adopted, in the framework of a special legislative procedure (Parliament’s consultation), the report by Kay SWINBURNE (ECR, UK) on the draft Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions. The committee approved the draft proposed in the recommendation of the European Central Bank (ECB) as amended: Publication of administrative penalties : Members suggested obliging the ECB as a general rule to publish without undue delay its decisions to impose on an undertaking administrative pecuniary penalties for breaches of directly applicable Union law and sanctions for breaches of ECB regulations or decisions, both in the supervisory and non-supervisory fields or until all legal means of appeal have been exhausted. Where the ECB deems that immediate publication of a decision would jeopardise the stability of financial markets or be disproportionate, considering the degree of severity of the administrative pecuniary penalty or sanction imposed on an undertaking, it should have the discretion to delay the publication of the decision until three years after the date on which the decision was taken. Upon request the ECB should hold confidential oral discussions behind closed doors with the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the competent committee of the European Parliament concerning such cases. The ECB should provide a justification for the delay in an annex to the published decision. Division of competences between the ECB and the national competent authorities : in order to avoid conflicts of interest between authorities, Members recommended introducing, in the ECB Recommendation, an explicit overall delineation of responsibilities : without prejudice to their other specific competences derived from national law, the national competent authorities remain competent to impose administrative penalties but are to only impose such penalties on credit institutions directly supervised by the ECB if the ECB requires them to initiate proceedings for this purpose. Time limits for administrative penalties : in its Recommendation, the ECB proposes that the right to take a decision to impose an administrative penalty on the infringement case expires five years after the infringement occurred. Members suggested reducing the five year period to a three year period which starts to run from the date on which the decision was taken to initiate infringement procedures, rather than the date on which the infringement occurred. Although the ECB recommends that the time limit shall not exceed a period of ten years after the infringement occurred, Members suggested that the time limit shall not exceed a period of seven years after the date on which the decision to initiate an infringement procedure was taken or, in the case of a continued infringement, seven years after the infringement ceased. Lastly, the report provides guidance as to which types of actions by the ECB should cause the limitation periods to be interrupted.
  • date: 2014-11-25T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20141125&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2014-11-26T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=24877&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2014-11-26T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2014-0062 title: T8-0062/2014 summary: The European Parliament adopted by 361 votes to 118, with 223 abstentions, in the framework of a special legislative procedure (Parliament’s consultation), a legislative resolution on the draft Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions. Parliament approved the draft proposed in the recommendation of the European Central Bank (ECB) as amended: Publication of administrative penalties : after notification to the undertaking concerned, the ECB shall, according to a transparent procedure and rules which it shall make public, publish, as a general rule without undue delay , any decision imposing on an undertaking administrative pecuniary penalties for breaches of directly applicable Union law and sanctions for breaches of ECB regulations or decisions, provided that all legal means of appeal against such a decision have been exhausted; where the ECB considers that immediate publication of a decision would jeopardise the stability of financial markets or be disproportionate considering the degree of severity of the administrative pecuniary penalty or sanction imposed on an undertaking, it shall have the discretion to delay the publication of the decision until three years after the date on which the decision was taken; upon request the ECB shall hold confidential oral discussions behind closed doors with the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the competent committee of the European Parliament concerning such cases. The ECB shall provide a justification for the delay in an annex to the published decision. Division of competences between the ECB and the national competent authorities : in order to avoid conflicts of interest between authorities, Members recommended introducing, in the ECB Recommendation, an explicit overall delineation of responsibilities : without prejudice to their other specific competences derived from national law, the national competent authorities remain competent to impose administrative penalties but are to only impose such penalties on credit institutions directly supervised by the ECB if the ECB requires them to initiate proceedings for this purpose. Proceeds from sanctions : Parliament noted that the proceeds from sanctions imposed by the ECB in the exercise of its supervisory tasks, including the collection of statistical information, shall belong to the Single Resolution Fund . Time limits for administrative penalties : in its Recommendation, the ECB proposes that the right to take a decision to impose an administrative penalty on the infringement case expires five years after the infringement occurred. Members suggested reducing the five year period to a three year period which starts to run from the date on which the decision was taken to initiate infringement procedures, rather than the date on which the infringement occurred. Although the ECB recommends that the time limit shall not exceed a period of ten years after the infringement occurred, Members suggested that the time limit shall not exceed a period of seven years after the date on which the decision to initiate an infringement procedure was taken or, in the case of a continued infringement, seven years after the infringement ceased. The resolution provides guidance as to which types of actions by the ECB should cause the limitation periods to be interrupted. Dialogue with supervisors outside the Union : in light of the globalisation of banking services and the increased importance of international standards, the ECB should, in association with the competent authorities of participating Member States, establish a regular dialogue with supervisors outside the Union to foster international coordination and to agree on shared principles in the imposition and enforcement of sanctions.
  • date: 2015-01-27T00:00:00 type: Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament body: EP/CSL
  • date: 2015-01-27T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
  • date: 2015-02-03T00:00:00 type: Final act published in Official Journal summary: PURPOSE: to adapt Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions in case of a breach of its regulations or decisions. LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Regulation (EU) 2015/159 amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions. CONTENT: this Regulation adapts the framework set out in Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 for the purposes of monetary policy, establishing a regime for the imposition of sanctions by the ECB relating to the performance of its supervisory tasks under the single supervisory mechanism ( Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 ). The main amendments have been made to Regulation (EC) No 2532/98: General principles and scope : it is stipulated that this Regulation shall apply to the imposition by the ECB of sanctions on undertakings for failure to comply with obligations arising from ECB decisions or regulations. The ECB shall publish any decision imposing sanctions on an undertaking in case of a breach of an ECB regulation or decision, in the supervisory field, whether or not such decision has been appealed. The publication shall include information on the type and nature of the breach and the identity of the undertaking concerned, unless publication in this manner would either jeopardise the stability of the financial markets or an ongoing criminal investigation; or cause, in so far as can be determined, disproportionate damage to the undertaking concerned. The ECB shall ensure that information published remains on its official website for at least five years. Upper limits of sanctions : in the case of infringements relating to decisions and regulations adopted by the ECB in the exercise of its supervisory tasks, the limits within which the ECB may impose fines and periodic penalty payments shall be as follows: for fines , the upper limit shall be twice the amount of the profits gained or losses avoided because of the infringement where these can be determined, or 10% of the total annual turnover of the undertaking; for periodic penalty payments , the upper limit shall be 5% of the average daily turnover per day of infringement. Periodic penalty payments may be imposed in respect of a maximum period of six months from the date stipulated in the decision imposing the periodic penalty payment. Procedural rules : where the ECB considers that there is reason to suspect that one or more breaches of an ECB regulation or decision are being or have been committed, the ECB shall exercise the relevant investigations . On completion of an investigation and before a proposal for a complete draft decision is prepared and submitted to the Supervisory Board, the ECB shall inform the undertaking concerned of its right to make submissions in writing to the ECB on the factual results and the objections raised against the entity. It shall set a reasonable time limit for making such submissions. The ECB may invite the undertaking concerned to attend an oral hearing . Specific time limits for sanctions : the right to take a decision to impose a sanction in case of a breach of an ECB decision or regulation relating to its supervisory tasks, shall expire five years after the infringement occurred or, in the case of a continued infringement, five years after the infringement ceased. The limitation period shall be interrupted with effect from the date on which the action is notified to the supervised entity concerned. Each interruption shall cause the time limit to recommence. However, the time limit shall not exceed a period of 10 years after the infringement occurred or, in the case of a continued infringement, 10 years after the infringement ceased. The limitation period for the enforcement of sanctions shall be suspended : (i) until the deadline for payment of the imposed sanction has passed; (ii) if enforcement of payment of the imposed sanction is suspended pursuant to a decision of the Governing Council or of the Court of Justice. ENTRY INTO FORCE: 4.2.2015. docs: title: Regulation 2015/159 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32015R0159 title: OJ L 027 03.02.2015, p. 0001 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2015:027:TOC
links
other
    procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
    Old
    ECON/8/00746
    New
    • ECON/8/00746
    procedure/final/url
    Old
    http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32015R0159
    New
    https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32015R0159
    procedure/instrument
    Old
    Regulation
    New
    • Regulation
    • Amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 1998/0809(CNS)
    procedure/subject
    Old
    • 5.20.03 European Central Bank (ECB), ESCB
    New
    5.20.03
    European Central Bank (ECB), ESCB
    procedure/summary
    • Amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98
    activities/5/docs/0
    url
    http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=24877&l=en
    type
    Results of vote in Parliament
    title
    Results of vote in Parliament
    activities/5/type
    Old
    Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
    New
    Results of vote in Parliament
    activities/9/text
    • PURPOSE: to adapt Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions in case of a breach of its regulations or decisions.

      LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Regulation (EU) 2015/159 amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions.

      CONTENT: this Regulation adapts the framework set out in Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 for the purposes of monetary policy, establishing a regime for the imposition of sanctions by the ECB relating to the performance of its supervisory tasks under the single supervisory mechanism (Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013).

      The main amendments have been made to Regulation (EC) No 2532/98:

      General principles and scope: it is stipulated that this Regulation shall apply to the imposition by the ECB of sanctions on undertakings for failure to comply with obligations arising from ECB decisions or regulations.

      The ECB shall publish any decision imposing sanctions on an undertaking in case of a breach of an ECB regulation or decision, in the supervisory field, whether or not such decision has been appealed. The publication shall include information on the type and nature of the breach and the identity of the undertaking concerned, unless publication in this manner would either jeopardise the stability of the financial markets or an ongoing criminal investigation; or cause, in so far as can be determined, disproportionate damage to the undertaking concerned.

      The ECB shall ensure that information published remains on its official website for at least five years.

      Upper limits of sanctions: in the case of infringements relating to decisions and regulations adopted by the ECB in the exercise of its supervisory tasks, the limits within which the ECB may impose fines and periodic penalty payments shall be as follows:

      • for fines, the upper limit shall be twice the amount of the profits gained or losses avoided because of the infringement where these can be determined, or 10% of the total annual turnover of the undertaking;
      • for periodic penalty payments, the upper limit shall be 5% of the average daily turnover per day of infringement. Periodic penalty payments may be imposed in respect of a maximum period of six months from the date stipulated in the decision imposing the periodic penalty payment.

      Procedural rules: where the ECB considers that there is reason to suspect that one or more breaches of an ECB regulation or decision are being or have been committed, the ECB shall exercise the relevant investigations.

      On completion of an investigation and before a proposal for a complete draft decision is prepared and submitted to the Supervisory Board, the ECB shall inform the undertaking concerned of its right to make submissions in writing to the ECB on the factual results and the objections raised against the entity. It shall set a reasonable time limit for making such submissions. The ECB may invite the undertaking concerned to attend an oral hearing.

      Specific time limits for sanctions: the right to take a decision to impose a sanction in case of a breach of an ECB decision or regulation relating to its supervisory tasks, shall expire five years after the infringement occurred or, in the case of a continued infringement, five years after the infringement ceased.

      The limitation period shall be interrupted with effect from the date on which the action is notified to the supervised entity concerned. Each interruption shall cause the time limit to recommence. However, the time limit shall not exceed a period of 10 years after the infringement occurred or, in the case of a continued infringement, 10 years after the infringement ceased.

      The limitation period for the enforcement of sanctions shall be suspended: (i) until the deadline for payment of the imposed sanction has passed; (ii) if enforcement of payment of the imposed sanction is suspended pursuant to a decision of the Governing Council or of the Court of Justice.

      ENTRY INTO FORCE: 4.2.2015.

    activities/9
    date
    2015-02-03T00:00:00
    docs
    type
    Final act published in Official Journal
    procedure/final
    url
    http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32015R0159
    title
    Regulation 2015/159
    procedure/stage_reached
    Old
    Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
    New
    Procedure completed
    activities/6
    date
    2015-01-27T00:00:00
    body
    CSL
    type
    Council Meeting
    council
    Economic and Financial Affairs ECOFIN
    meeting_id
    3366
    activities/7
    date
    2015-01-27T00:00:00
    body
    EP
    type
    End of procedure in Parliament
    activities/8
    date
    2015-01-27T00:00:00
    body
    EP/CSL
    type
    Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
    procedure/stage_reached
    Old
    Awaiting final decision
    New
    Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
    activities/5/docs/0/text
    • The European Parliament adopted by 361 votes to 118, with 223 abstentions, in the framework of a special legislative procedure (Parliament’s consultation), a legislative resolution on the draft Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions.

      Parliament approved the draft proposed in the recommendation of the European Central Bank (ECB) as amended:

      Publication of administrative penalties:

      • after notification to the undertaking concerned, the ECB shall, according to a transparent procedure and rules which it shall make public, publish, as a general rule without undue delay, any decision imposing on an undertaking administrative pecuniary penalties for breaches of directly applicable Union law and sanctions for breaches of ECB regulations or decisions, provided that all legal means of appeal against such a decision have been exhausted;
      • where the ECB considers that immediate publication of a decision would jeopardise the stability of financial markets or be disproportionate considering the degree of severity of the administrative pecuniary penalty or sanction imposed on an undertaking, it shall have the discretion to delay the publication of the decision until three years after the date on which the decision was taken;
      • upon request the ECB shall hold confidential oral discussions behind closed doors with the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the competent committee of the European Parliament concerning such cases. The ECB shall provide a justification for the delay in an annex to the published decision.

      Division of competences between the ECB and the national competent authorities: in order to avoid conflicts of interest between authorities, Members recommended introducing, in the ECB Recommendation, an explicit overall delineation of responsibilities: without prejudice to their other specific competences derived from national law, the national competent authorities remain competent to impose administrative penalties but are to only impose such penalties on credit institutions directly supervised by the ECB if the ECB requires them to initiate proceedings for this purpose.

      Proceeds from sanctions: Parliament noted that the proceeds from sanctions imposed by the ECB in the exercise of its supervisory tasks, including the collection of statistical information, shall belong to the Single Resolution Fund.

      Time limits for administrative penalties: in its Recommendation, the ECB proposes that the right to take a decision to impose an administrative penalty on the infringement case expires five years after the infringement occurred. Members suggested reducing the five year period to a three year period which starts to run from the date on which the decision was taken to initiate infringement procedures, rather than the date on which the infringement occurred.

      Although the ECB recommends that the time limit shall not exceed a period of ten years after the infringement occurred, Members suggested that the time limit shall not exceed a period of seven years after the date on which the decision to initiate an infringement procedure was taken or, in the case of a continued infringement, seven years after the infringement ceased.

      The resolution provides guidance as to which types of actions by the ECB should cause the limitation periods to be interrupted.

      Dialogue with supervisors outside the Union: in light of the globalisation of banking services and the increased importance of international standards, the ECB should, in association with the competent authorities of participating Member States, establish a regular dialogue with supervisors outside the Union to foster international coordination and to agree on shared principles in the imposition and enforcement of sanctions.

    activities/4/docs
    • url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20141125&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament
    activities/4/type
    Old
    Debate in plenary scheduled
    New
    Debate in Parliament
    activities/5/docs
    • url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2014-0062 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T8-0062/2014
    activities/5/type
    Old
    Vote in plenary scheduled
    New
    Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
    procedure/stage_reached
    Old
    Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
    New
    Awaiting final decision
    activities/3/docs/0/text
    • The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs adopted, in the framework of a special legislative procedure (Parliament’s consultation), the report by Kay SWINBURNE (ECR, UK) on the draft Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions.

      The committee approved the draft proposed in the recommendation of the European Central Bank (ECB) as amended:

      Publication of administrative penalties: Members suggested obliging the ECB as a general rule to publish without undue delay its decisions to impose on an undertaking administrative pecuniary penalties for breaches of directly applicable Union law and sanctions for breaches of ECB regulations or decisions, both in the supervisory and non-supervisory fields or until all legal means of appeal have been exhausted.

      Where the ECB deems that immediate publication of a decision would jeopardise the stability of financial markets or be disproportionate, considering the degree of severity of the administrative pecuniary penalty or sanction imposed on an undertaking, it should have the discretion to delay the publication of the decision until three years after the date on which the decision was taken.

      Upon request the ECB should hold confidential oral discussions behind closed doors with the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the competent committee of the European Parliament concerning such cases. The ECB should provide a justification for the delay in an annex to the published decision.

      Division of competences between the ECB and the national competent authorities: in order to avoid conflicts of interest between authorities, Members recommended introducing, in the ECB Recommendation, an explicit overall delineation of responsibilities: without prejudice to their other specific competences derived from national law, the national competent authorities remain competent to impose administrative penalties but are to only impose such penalties on credit institutions directly supervised by the ECB if the ECB requires them to initiate proceedings for this purpose.

      Time limits for administrative penalties: in its Recommendation, the ECB proposes that the right to take a decision to impose an administrative penalty on the infringement case expires five years after the infringement occurred. Members suggested reducing the five year period to a three year period which starts to run from the date on which the decision was taken to initiate infringement procedures, rather than the date on which the infringement occurred.

      Although the ECB recommends that the time limit shall not exceed a period of ten years after the infringement occurred, Members suggested that the time limit shall not exceed a period of seven years after the date on which the decision to initiate an infringement procedure was taken or, in the case of a continued infringement, seven years after the infringement ceased.

      Lastly, the report provides guidance as to which types of actions by the ECB should cause the limitation periods to be interrupted.

    activities/3/docs
    • url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2014-0028&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading title: A8-0028/2014
    activities/3
    date
    2014-11-12T00:00:00
    body
    EP
    type
    Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
    committees
    body: EP shadows: group: EPP name: FERBER Markus group: S&D name: MAVRIDES Costas group: ALDE name: VAN NIEUWENHUIZEN Cora group: GUE/NGL name: MATIAS Marisa group: Verts/ALE name: GIEGOLD Sven responsible: True committee: ECON date: 2014-07-22T00:00:00 committee_full: Economic and Monetary Affairs rapporteur: group: ECR name: SWINBURNE Kay
    procedure/stage_reached
    Old
    Awaiting committee decision
    New
    Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
    activities/2/committees
    • body: EP shadows: group: EPP name: FERBER Markus group: S&D name: MAVRIDES Costas group: ALDE name: VAN NIEUWENHUIZEN Cora group: GUE/NGL name: MATIAS Marisa group: Verts/ALE name: GIEGOLD Sven responsible: True committee: ECON date: 2014-07-22T00:00:00 committee_full: Economic and Monetary Affairs rapporteur: group: ECR name: SWINBURNE Kay
    activities/2/type
    Old
    Vote scheduled in committee, 1st reading/single reading
    New
    Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
    activities/1/committees/0/shadows/2/mepref
    Old
    545fcb8ad1d1c51b9d000000
    New
    53b2de3cb819f205b00000e7
    committees/0/shadows/2/mepref
    Old
    545fcb8ad1d1c51b9d000000
    New
    53b2de3cb819f205b00000e7
    activities/1/committees/0/shadows/2/mepref
    545fcb8ad1d1c51b9d000000
    committees/0/shadows/2/mepref
    545fcb8ad1d1c51b9d000000
    activities/1/committees/0/rapporteur/0/mepref
    Old
    53ba8278b819f24b330001af
    New
    4f1adbbdb819f207b30000df
    activities/1/committees/0/rapporteur/0/name
    Old
    VAN OVERTVELDT Johan
    New
    SWINBURNE Kay
    activities/1/committees/0/shadows
    • group: EPP name: FERBER Markus
    • group: S&D name: MAVRIDES Costas
    • group: ALDE name: VAN NIEUWENHUIZEN Cora
    • group: GUE/NGL name: MATIAS Marisa
    • group: Verts/ALE name: GIEGOLD Sven
    activities/2
    date
    2014-11-11T00:00:00
    body
    EP
    type
    Vote scheduled in committee, 1st reading/single reading
    activities/3
    date
    2014-11-25T00:00:00
    body
    EP
    type
    Debate in plenary scheduled
    activities/4
    date
    2014-11-26T00:00:00
    body
    EP
    type
    Vote in plenary scheduled
    committees/0/rapporteur/0/mepref
    Old
    53ba8278b819f24b330001af
    New
    4f1adbbdb819f207b30000df
    committees/0/rapporteur/0/name
    Old
    VAN OVERTVELDT Johan
    New
    SWINBURNE Kay
    committees/0/shadows
    • group: EPP name: FERBER Markus
    • group: S&D name: MAVRIDES Costas
    • group: ALDE name: VAN NIEUWENHUIZEN Cora
    • group: GUE/NGL name: MATIAS Marisa
    • group: Verts/ALE name: GIEGOLD Sven
    procedure/instrument
    Regulation
    activities/0/docs/0/text
    • PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions in case of a breach of its regulations or decisions.

      PROPOSED ACT: Recommendation for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions.

      ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the Council adopts the act after consulting the European Parliament but without being obliged to follow its opinion.

      BACKGROUND: Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 specifies the limits and conditions under which the European Central Bank (ECB) is entitled to impose fines or periodic penalty payments on undertakings for failure to comply with obligations under its regulations and decisions.

      The scope of the ECB’s powers to impose sanctions was extended by Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013. This Regulation entitles the ECB to impose on the credit institutions it supervises: (a) administrative pecuniary penalties when these institutions breach a requirement under directly applicable Union law; and (b) sanctions in the event of a breach of an ECB regulation or decision.

      Against this background, it is of particular importance to establish a coherent regime for the imposition by the ECB of all administrative penalties relating to the performance of its supervisory tasks under Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013. Moreover, certain rules contained in Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 differ from those laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013. These relate in particular to the upper limits of fines and periodic penalty payments, procedural rules, and the limitation periods laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2532/98.

      Taking account of the experience gained following several years of application of Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 in the various fields of competence of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the fact that the scope of the ECB’s powers to impose sanctions was extended, the ECB suggests making certain amendments to Regulation (EC) No 2532/98.

      CONTENT: in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 129(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the ECB recommends making the following amendments to Regulation (EC) No 2532/98:

      • inserting a new Article to define some general principles applying to administrative penalties imposed by the ECB in relation to its supervisory tasks and sanctions imposed in relation to its non-supervisory tasks and specify the scope of the different provisions applying to them;

      ·         inserting new Articles concerning the regime applicable to administrative penalties imposed by the ECB in the exercise of its supervisory tasks. This is to ensure that a single regime applies to all ECB administrative penalties imposed in the supervisory field, while also taking into account the rules laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013;

      • making additional amendments to ensure that the principles and procedures governing the imposition of sanctions laid down in Articles 2 to 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 are compatible with those governing the imposition by the ECB of administrative penalties in the exercise of its supervisory tasks under Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013.
    activities/1/committees/0/date
    2014-07-22T00:00:00
    activities/1/committees/0/rapporteur
    • group: ECR name: VAN OVERTVELDT Johan
    committees/0/date
    2014-07-22T00:00:00
    committees/0/rapporteur
    • group: ECR name: VAN OVERTVELDT Johan
    procedure/legal_basis
    • Treaty on the Functioning of the EU TFEU 129-p4
    activities/1
    date
    2014-07-14T00:00:00
    body
    EP
    type
    Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
    committees
    body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Economic and Monetary Affairs committee: ECON
    procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
    ECON/8/00746
    procedure/stage_reached
    Old
    Preparatory phase in Parliament
    New
    Awaiting committee decision
    activities
    • date: 2014-06-11T00:00:00 docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=10896%2F14&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC type: Legislative proposal published title: 10896/2014 type: Legislative proposal published body: EC commission:
    committees
    • body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Economic and Monetary Affairs committee: ECON
    links
    other
      procedure
      reference
      2014/0807(CNS)
      title
      European Central Bank (ECB): powers to impose sanctions
      stage_reached
      Preparatory phase in Parliament
      summary
      Amending Regulation (EC) No 2532/98
      subtype
      Legislation
      type
      CNS - Consultation procedure
      subject
      5.20.03 European Central Bank (ECB), ESCB