November 2006

Eurosif to co-organise “One Share – One Vote: a Means for Corporate Control?” in Brussels on December 7th, 2006.

Organised by the European Capital Markets Institute, in cooperation with the pension fund ABP and Eurosif, this seminar intends to revive the debate on whether more proportionality and thus shareholder democracy is necessary for companies listed in the EU, and to offer an analysis on the alternative policies to consider. Participants both from the market side and the regulatory side will attend. Registration is free of charge for Eurosif members. RSVP with marion@eurosif.org by December 1, 2006.

Eurosif will participate in a review meeting of the European Multi-stakeholder Forum on CSR organised by the European Commission on December 7th, 2006 at Brussels.

The meeting is in line with the Commission proposal, in its recent communication on CSR, to “re-convene meetings of the Multistakeholder Forum at regular intervals with a view to continually reviewing progress on CSR in the EU”. In the first session, working groups of multi-stakeholders will analyse what has happened since the forum made its recommendations in 2004 and the lessons learned. In the second session, working groups will explore how the potential of CSR can be better exploited to contribute to key policy objectives. One of Eurosif's key objectives is to raise the profile of SRI in the discussion so that the EC better understands the impact SRI makes on CSR. For questions or comments, please contact Matt Christensen at mattc@eurosif.org.

EU News

EU Commission report to analyse UCITS

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market and Services is looking to commission a €600k comparative analysis of investment funds in the European Union.
In a tender contract notice the EC announced it wants to conduct a study entitled “Investment funds in the European Union: comparative analysis of use of investment powers, investment outcomes and related risk features in both UCITS and non-harmonised markets”. The overall objective of the study is to gain a clear understanding of the “main topics related to investment powers for fund managers across the EU. The time-limit for the receipt of tenders or requests to participate is November 24.

Commission proposes €100 million global risk capital fund for developing countries to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy projects

The Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF) will accelerate the transfer, development and deployment of environmentally sound technologies and thereby help to bring secure energy supplies to people in poorer regions of the world. The Commission intends to kick-start the fund with a contribution of up to €80 million over the next four years, and expects that financing from other public and private sources will take funding to at least €100 million. The Commission has appointed Triodos International Fund Management b.v. in conjunction with E+Co, to facilitate the implemention of the GEEREF in close co-operation with the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and other interested parties. More info

Commission asks Member States to provide important information in the fight against climate change

Eight EU countries were sent first warning letters on 12 October for failing to meet a 30 June deadline to submit their national allocation plans (NAPs) on how they intend to allocate CO2 pollution permits to industry in time for the second phase of the EU emissions trading scheme (EU-ETS) to fight global warming. The member states concerned are: Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. In a parallel move, the Commission warned seven member states for failing to provide technical information related to a monitoring mechanism for greenhouse gas emissions. France, Estonia, Greece, Lithuania and Poland will receive first warning letters while Germany and Luxembourg, who were already warned in April, will now receive final warnings, the Commission said. More info

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