**2021**
The European Commission published on 19 October its new Work Program for 2021 which presents an overview of the key initiatives for the year to come (annex). Under the banner ‘A Union of Vitality in a World of Fragility’, the new program focusses on managing the crisis and making ‘societies and economies more resilient’ post COVID-19, as well as accelerating the long-term Green and Digital transitions. It contains new legislative initiatives across all six headlines political ambitions of President Von Der Leyen’s Political Guidelines and reflects the initiatives put forwards in her first State of the Union Speech.
Echoing the Commissioner McGuinness’s Parliament hearing , the new Work Program describes the financial system as a ‘key driver of the twin transition’ and a ‘key actor for Europe’s recovery’. DG FISMA’s mandate for next year will therefore focus on:
1) Putting in place necessary safeguards for financial stability and investor protection, as well as stepping up the fight against money laundering
2) Making progress on the Capital Markets Union to boost cross-border investment in the EU
3)Continuing the work on Sustainable Finance and sustainable corporate governance.
Also of importance for our industry are the tax initiatives for 2021, with the work program reflecting Commissioner’s McGuinness strong commitment for the EU’s fair taxation agenda. In fact, while the EU continues to work for an international agreement on the introduction of a digital levy, the work program foresees a legislative proposal for an EU digital levy in Q1 2021 if international cooperation fails.
The adoption of a new AML legislative package is due for Q1 2021, with the potential creation of an EU-level AML supervisor
The list of initiatives presented in the Work Program is not exhaustive. Given the delays caused by COVID-19, 2020 files will also feature, such as the reviews for NFRD, AIFMD and ELTIF.
