COVID-19 RESOURCE CENTER: LATEST UPDATES

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to extend the timeline for the review of its monetary policy strategy. In the current situation, the decision-making bodies and staff of the ECB and the national central banks of the Eurosystem are focusing all their efforts on addressing the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. The conclusion of the strategy review will therefore be postponed from the end of 2020 to mid-2021.

Saving lives and supporting livelihoods in these times of acute crisis is paramount. The Commission is further increasing its response by proposing to set up a €100 billion solidarity instrument to help workers keep their incomes and help businesses stay afloat, called SURE. It is also proposing to redirect all available structural funds to the response to the coronavirus.

• als het voor een gereglementeerde onderneming in deze uitzonderlijke situatie onmogelijk blijkt om die telefoongesprekken op te nemen, moet zij alternatieve maatregelen overwegen om de risico’s te beheren die voortvloeien uit het feit dat de telefoongesprekken niet kunnen worden opgenomen. De onderneming zou bijvoorbeeld een verslag van het telefoongesprek kunnen opstellen, na de cliënt er vooraf van op de hoogte te hebben gebracht dat het telefoongesprek niet kan worden opgenomen en dat in plaats daarvan een verslag zal worden opgesteld;
• een onderneming die in de onmogelijkheid zou verkeren om telefoongespreken op te nemen, en daarom voor alternatieve maatregelen zou opteren, zou haar toezicht op de telefonisch geplaatste orders moeten verscherpen. Daarnaast zou zij al het mogelijke moeten doen om het tijdelijke karakter van die alternatieve maatregelen te garanderen en om de telefoongesprekken waarin orders worden geplaatst, zo snel mogelijk weer op te nemen.

Vele werkgevers vragen zich af of zij aan hun werknemers die ingevolge de covid-19 maatregelen niet kunnen werken en in tijdelijke werkloosheid geplaatst zijn, een aanvulling bij de RVA uitkering mogen toekennen zonder dat daarop bijdragen verschuldigd zijn.

Hierbij wordt bevestigd dat het algemene principe van toepassing blijft dat het mogelijk is een aanvulling toe te kennen zonder dat daarop bijdragen verschuldigd zijn (noch de gewone sociale bijdragen, noch de bijdragen in het kader van de zgn. Decava-regeling). De RSZ stelt als enige voorwaarde aangaande de hoogte van de aanvulling, dat de som van de RVA uitkering die de werknemer zal ontvangen en de aanvulling, dat deze niet tot gevolg mag hebben dat de werknemer netto meer zou ontvangen dan wanneer hij gewerkt had.

Dit wil zeggen dat:

• er naast de uitkering van de RVA en eventuele supplementen zoals de 5,63 EUR per dag in het geval van 'tijdelijke werkloosheid wegens overmacht', ook rekening moet gehouden worden met aanvullingen die toegekend zullen worden door een Fonds voor bestaanszekerheid
• de werkgever alle werknemers van dezelfde categorie gelijk moet behandelen; dit kan door 
• ofwel tot een bepaald percentage van het nettoloon te compenseren
• of door iedereen een forfaitair bedrag te betalen er rekening mee houdend dat ook de werknemers met de laagste lonen niet meer mogen ontvangen dan indien ze gewerkt zouden hebben
• er rekening mag gehouden worden met het gemiddelde loon van de voorbije maanden als het gaat om werknemers met een variabel loon
• er alleen rekening mag gehouden worden met het loon waarop socialezekeheidsbijdragen verschuldigd zijn; de aanvullingen mogen dus geen rekening houden met voordelen zoals maaltijdcheques, ....
• netto niet wil zeggen dat men zich moet baseren op het netto maandloon en het netto bedrag van de aanvullingen en RVA-uitkering, maar dat men er rekening mee houdt dat op het loon, de RVA-uitkeringen en aanvullingen andere bedrijfsvoorheffingen gelden; als uitgangspunt kunnen dus best de respectievelijke bruto belastbare bedragen worden gehanteerd.

This Communication sets out the expectations of the Bank regarding the dividend distribution policy of credit institutions and groups of credit institutions that are under the direct supervision of the Bank, in light of the measures adopted to manage the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

EIOPA has issued today a statement to insurers and intermediaries, urging them to take steps to mitigate the impact of Coronavirus/COVID-19 on consumers.

With this statement, EIOPA specifically asks insurers and intermediaries to consider a number of different actions, taking into account developments relating to the Coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak. These include:

• Providing clear and timely information to consumers;
• Keeping consumers informed about contingency measures that have been put in place;
• Continuing to apply product oversight and governance requirements; and
• Exercising flexibility in the treatment of consumers where reasonable and practical.

Today, regulators are urging savers to keep calm and not rush to make any decisions about their pension in response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), supported by The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), say fears over the impact of the pandemic on markets and personal finances may make savers more vulnerable to scams or making a decision that could damage their long-term interests.

COVID-19 and processing of personal data at work

Please find a short selection of the questions answered by the DPA:

• As an employer, can I perform systematic body temperature checks of workers and/or visitors?

Yes, mere temperature measurements are not considered as processing of personal data. If these measurements are not combined with the recording or processing of personal data, they do not fall within the scope of the GDPR.

• As an employer, can I oblige my employees to complete a medical questionnaire or a questionnaire relating to recent trips?

No. Recent trips, as well as any symptoms shall only be reported on a voluntary basis.

• As an employer, can I reveal the names of infected persons/workers to prevent the spread of the virus?

No, this is not allowed pursuant to the principles of confidentiality and proportionality of the GDPR. As an exception to the above, and under certain circumstances, you may communicate the names of the infected person to the company doctor or to the competent authorities.

• As an employer, can I prohibit my employees from participating in meetings or gatherings with family or friends during their free time, or from travelling abroad?

As a general rule, no. The DPA points out that you may not take any measures that exceed the scope of labour law or the instructions of the competent authorities.

Future updates might be expected.

Wanneer u uitkeringen voor tijdelijke werkloosheid ontvangt, kan dit een invloed hebben op de rechten of plichten die u hebt tegenover andere instellingen.

De RVA is niet bevoegd om te antwoorden op vragen over andere reglementering dan die van de werkloosheidsvergoeding of die van loopbaanonderbreking en tijdskrediet.

Iedere instelling van sociale zekerheid zet zich in elk geval maximaal in om u zo goed mogelijk te informeren over zijn expertisedomein. Hieronder vindt u alvast enkele interessante websites.

In order to further mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the EU banking sector, EBA has undertaken the following actions:

• EBA has urged all banks to refrain from dividend distribution or share buybacks and to review their remuneration policies in light of the current economic situation to ensure that they are consistent with and promote sound and effective risk management. In particular, variable remunerations should be set at a conservative level;
• EBA has urged competent and resolution authorities to apply a one-month flexibility for reports due between March and the end of May 2020 (with certain exceptions) and to apply flexibility in assessing institutions’ compliance with the publication deadlines for their Pillar 3 reports;
• EBA has called upon NCAs to support financial institutions’ ongoing efforts by sharing information on emerging ML/TF risks.

De coronacrisis heeft grote gevolgen voor de economie van dit land. Dat zet druk op de financiële situatie van heel wat mensen. Velen onder hen dreigen namelijk hun job te verliezen of hebben een periode minder of zelfs helemaal geen inkomsten. Vaak neemt de afbetaling van het hypothecair krediet een flinke hap uit het gezindsbudget.

De minister van Financiën Alexander De Croo, de Nationale Bank van België en Febelfin hebben daarom aangekondigd om mensen financieel te ondersteunen wanneer zij in problemen zouden komen door de coronacrisis. Zo kan er betalingsuitstel van het hypothecair krediet worden aangevraagd voor maximaal zes maanden.

In dit charter wordt dit engagement concreet ingevuld.

Het charter somt op:

• wat betalingsuitstel exact inhoudt;
• wie in aanmerking komt om betalingsuitstel te kunnen aanvragen;
• welke vormen betalingsuitstel kan aannemen;
• wanneer betalingsuitstel kan worden aangevraagd en tot wanneer het betalingsuitstel kan worden opgenomen.

De coronacrisis heeft grote gevolgen voor de economie van dit land. Dat zet druk op de financiële situatie van heel wat mensen. Velen onder hen dreigen namelijk hun job te verliezen of hebben een periode minder of zelfs helemaal geen inkomsten. Tegelijkertijd blijven bepaalde financiële kosten en verplichtingen echter doorlopen.

De minister van Financiën Alexander De Croo, de Nationale Bank van België en Febelfin hebben daarom op 22 maart aangekondigd om particulieren en bedrijven financieel te ondersteunen wanneer zij in problemen zouden komen door de coronacrisis. Zo kan er betalingsuitstel van het hypothecair krediet en het ondernemingskrediet worden aangevraagd voor maximum zes maanden. De banken zullen geen dossier- of administratieve kosten aanrekenen voor het betalingsuitstel.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, is issuing a Public Statement to clarify issues regarding the publication by execution venues and firms of the general best execution reports required under RTS 27 and 28  of MiFID II, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The EU is taking swift action to make available money to help tackle the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Council today adopted two legislative acts to quickly release funding from the EU budget for tackling the COVID-19 crisis. One of the acts amends the rules of the structural and investment funds, while the other extends the scope of the EU Solidarity Fund.

The Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative will give member states access to €37 billion of cohesion money to strengthen healthcare systems, as well as support small and medium-sized enterprises, short-term working schemes, and community-based services.

Having regard to the current coronavirus outbreak, the FSMA has, amongst others, recommended and reminded the institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs) :

(1) to comply with the regulatory requirements. However the FSMA intends to be flexible with respect to the deadlines for the adaptation of key documents such as the principles of the investment policy (SIP) ;

(2) where physical board meetings are not possible, the board of an IORP may deliberate by written procedure provided that the articles of association of the IORP allows the written procedure of the board of directors. In addition, the FSMA considers that a meeting held entirely by video conference or telephone conference can be assimilated to a "physical" meeting as it allows for an adversarial debate ;

(3) IORPs may be faced with practical issues when submitting to the FSMA files aimed at enabling the "fit & proper" assessment of the candidates for the appointment or reappointment as members of operational bodies or as heads of key functions. Under those circumstances, the FSMA notes that :

- as regards to the form, the signature can be replaced by a picture of the signature or by the words "completed truthfully and in good faith", followed by the full name of the person 'signing';

- as regards to the extract from the criminal record, if it is not possible to provide an excerpt from the municipality or from the FPS Justice, the FSMA provisionally accepts that the candidate sends a sworn statement of his or her situation/offences.

(4) the FSMA asks IORPs to inform it without delay where the valuation or trading of certain assets in their portfolio is suspended. In this respect, special attention should be paid to collective investment instruments which, given the current market circumstances, should be subject to special liquidity measures.

The Committee of European Audit Oversight Bodies (CEAOB) published a press release on March 24, 2020 about the impact of Covid-19 on the audit of the financial statements.

The CEAOB highlights the following areas that are of high importance for the performance of ongoing audits:

(i) obtaining of sufficient appropriate audit evidence;
(ii) going concern;
(iii) subsequent events; and
(iv) reporting and communication.

People are given enough time to discuss payment delay with the banks, Febelfin, the Minister of Finance Alexander De Croo and the National Bank of Belgium announced on March 22, 2020, to support Belgian citizens and companies financially when they get into trouble due to the corona virus.

Febelfin is currently working hard with the entire financial sector and the government to flesh out this commitment with regard to mortgage loans and corporate loans. In this way, all banks can communicate uniformly to their customers and help them in the same way.

Alle indieners van btw-maandaangiften - ook zij die géén vergunning maandelijkse teruggave hebben en die evenmin als ‘starter’ beschouwd worden - zullen onder de hierna vermelde voorwaarden een versnelde teruggave van het btw-krediet kunnen genieten op hun rekening-courant (met datum van uitwerking 31 maart 2020).

• Voor alle maandindieners die van deze versnelde teruggaaf willen genieten (starters, vergunninghouders ‘maandelijkse teruggave’ en alle anderen) wordt de indieningstermijn voor de aangifte van februari 2020 gebracht op 3 april 2020.
• Deze aangifte moet via Intervat worden ingediend.
• De teruggave zal enkel gebeuren als het vakje ‘Aanvraag terugbetaling’ aangekruist is.
• Tot en met 3 april 2020 kan de belastingplichtige via Intervat een verbeterende aangifte (PDF, 700.48 KB) (This hyperlink opens a new window) indienen om deze optie te wijzigen.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has decided to keep the date of application of the transparency calculations for equity instruments of 1 April 2020 unchanged.

ESMA has recently been asked by some stakeholders to postpone the date of application – required by MiFIDII/MiFIR to apply from 1 April, on the basis of the extraordinary market circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The application of new tick-sizes was cited as particularly problematic in the current environment. ESMA acknowledges the severity of the situation and is working to alleviate market participants’ burden to the maximum extent possible, as some recent publications show, in particular delaying the application of new obligations which require significant technological changes.

De Belgische verzekeringssector gaat inspanningen leveren om de negatieve impact van de coronacrisis op de particulieren, gezinnen, zelfstandigen en bedrijven te verzachten. De verzekeringsondernemingen gaan de volgende maanden soepel omgaan met klanten in nood en ervoor zorgen dat ze blijvend beschermd worden. Zopas bereikte de sectororganisatie hierover een akkoord dat mee gefaciliteerd werd door de Nationale Bank met de steun van de FSMA en de federale regering.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has issued a revised version of its 19 March Public Statement on coordinated supervisory actions on the application of Securities Finance Transactions Regulation (SFTR).
The revised statement clarifies that SFTs concluded between 13 April 2020 and 13 July 2020 and SFTs subject to backloading under SFTR also fall within those issues in respect of which competent authorities are not expected to prioritise in their supervisory actions towards counterparties, entities responsible for reporting and investment firms in respect of their reporting obligations under SFTR or MiFIR and to generally apply their risk-based approach in the exercise of supervisory powers in their day-to-day enforcement of applicable legislation in this area in a proportionate manner.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has issued a Public Statement on some accounting implications of the economic support and relief measures adopted by EU Member States in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The measures include moratoria on repayment of loans and have an impact on the calculation of expected credit losses in accordance with IFRS 9.

Members of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, who regulate over 95% of the world’s capital markets, are cooperating closely on their responses to the disruption in capital markets resulting from the macroeconomic impact of COVID-19 on the global economy.
The IOSCO Board is committed to ensuring that capital markets continue to function throughout this difficult period in an open and orderly manner to enable all participants to price and transfer risk across all traded asset classes. Importantly, continued functioning of equity, credit and funding markets supports the efforts of the real economy in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis through access to funding and through the ability to hedge risks. To meet this objective, securities regulators are focused on the operational and financial resilience of market infrastructures, the operational capability of market users, and the continued flow of information to these markets. They are also providing the appropriate regulatory flexibility to help market participants address the challenges posed by COVID-19 while ensuring that market integrity and investor protection principles are maintained.

Bedrijven die voorraden van medische hulpgoederen schenken aan ziekenhuizen en zorginstellingen zijn daarop geen btw verschuldigd. Dat heeft vicepremier en minister van Financiën Alexander De Croo beslist. Ook de productie en schenking van medische hulpgoederen zal in rekening kunnen worden gebracht als beroepskost. Minister Philippe De Backer, die de task force medische hulpgoederen leidt, is tevreden met de beslissing.

Concreet: een gift van medische hulpgoederen aan ziekenhuizen en zorginstellingen zal geen aanleiding geven tot de opeisbaarheid van btw. In normale omstandigheden kan btw enkel worden afgetrokken bij verkoop van goederen, niet bij schenking. Ook wanneer men tijdelijk extra kosten maakt voor bijvoorbeeld de productie van medisch hulpgoederen zal men deze kunnen inbrengen als beroepskosten.

Circulaire 2020/C/46 over het schenken van goederen aan bepaalde instellingen en giften in natura
Deze circulaire handelt over een tijdelijke maatregel die wordt genomen in het kader van het bestrijden van COVID-19 (Coronavirus) wat het gratis verstrekken van medische hulpmiddelen aan bepaalde instellingen betreft en de gevolgen ervan op het stuk van de btw, de VenB en de BNI/ven. Verder bespreekt deze circulaire ook een tijdelijke maatregel inzake giften in natura die in dezelfde context gebeuren.

Circulaire 2020/C/46 concernant les dons de biens à certains établissements et les dons en nature
Cette circulaire porte sur une mesure temporaire prise dans le cadre de la lutte contre le COVID-19 (Coronavirus) en ce qui concerne la fourniture gratuite de dispositifs médicaux à certains établissements et leurs implications en matière de TVA, d’ISoc et d’INR/soc. Cette circulaire traite également d’une mesure temporaire en ce qui concerne les dons en nature qui ont lieu dans le même contexte.

• ECB and other major central banks to offer 7-day US dollar operations on a daily basis
• Operations with 84-day maturity continue to be offered weekly
• New frequency effective as of 23 March 2020, to remain in place for as long as appropriate to support smooth functioning of US dollar funding markets

The FSMA has added additional guidance with respect to its short selling rules (see yesterday’s alert):

• The FSMA confirms that it is prohibited to “entering into a short sale which might constitute or increase a net short position on stocks admitted to trading to Belgian trading venues”
• This includes “any transaction which creates, or relates to, a financial instrument and where the effect or one of the effects of that transaction is to confer a financial advantage on the natural or legal person in the event of a decrease in the price or value of another financial instrument”
• The rules have taken effect on 18 March 2020 and are extended to 17 April 2020
• The ban applies regardless of the place where the transaction is executed (i.e. on a trading venue or OTC)
• The measure is only applicable to companies listed on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Growth where the FSMA is the national competent authority for the most relevant market (MRM)
• The ban applies to index-related instruments only if the shares represent more than 20% of the index weight. The ban does not apply to the activity of market making

ECB announces €750 billion Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP)

 The ECB decided the following:

• To launch a new temporary asset purchase programme of private and public sector securities to counter the serious risks to the monetary policy transmission mechanism and the outlook for the euro area posed by the outbreak and escalating diffusion of the coronavirus, COVID-19. This new Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) will have an overall envelope of €750 billion. Purchases will be conducted until the end of 2020 and will include all the asset categories eligible under the existing asset purchase programme (APP). For the purchases of public sector securities, the benchmark allocation across jurisdictions will continue to be the capital key of the national central banks. At the same time, purchases under the new PEPP will be conducted in a flexible manner. This allows for fluctuations in the distribution of purchase flows over time, across asset classes and among jurisdictions. The ECB will terminate net asset purchases under PEPP once it judges that the coronavirus Covid-19 crisis phase is over, but in any case not before the end of the year.
• To expand the range of eligible assets under the corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP) to non-financial commercial paper, making all commercial papers of sufficient credit quality eligible for purchase under CSPP.
• To ease the collateral standards by adjusting the main risk parameters of the collateral framework. In particular, we will expand the scope of Additional Credit Claims (ACC) to include claims related to the financing of the corporate sector. This will ensure that counterparties can continue to make full use of the Eurosystem’s refinancing operations.

EU ambassadors agreed the Council's position on two legislative proposals which will free up funds to tackle the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. Given the urgency of the situation, both proposals were approved without amendments.

The so-called Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative will make available €37 billion of Cohesion funds to member states to address the consequences of the crisis. About €8 billion of investment liquidity will be released from unspent pre-financing in 2019 for programmes under the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. The measure will also provide access to €29 billion of structural funding across the EU for 2020. Expenditure on crisis response will be available as of 1 February 2020.

Wetsvoorstel tot wijziging van de wet van 22 december 2016 houdende invoering van een overbruggingsrecht ten gunste van zelfstandigen en tot invoering van tijdelijke maatregelen in het kader van COVID-19 ten gunste van zelfstandigen. /
Proposition de loi modifiant la loi du 22 décembre 2016 instaurant un droit de passerelle en faveur des travailleurs indépendants et introduisant des mesures temporaires dans le cadre COVID-19 en faveur des travailleurs indépendants. 

About going to work: all companies should facilitate telework. Working at home becomes the rule. Companies which can not organise telework because of essential reasons, should respect the rules on social distancing, during the execution of the job and also during transport that is organised by the employer.
Compliance will be checked. Companies who do not organise telework whilst they should, or do not respect the rules on social distancing, can be fined, or even closed.
The new measures apply from 18/03 at noon until 5/04.

The FSMA has issued a new prohibition of short selling (which is much wider than the prohibition announced in yesterday’s alert). The new prohibition has immediate effect and will last until 17 April 2020.

The prohibition pertains to “short selling, including any transaction which creates, or relates to, a financial instrument and the effect or one of the effects of that transaction is to confer a financial advantage on the natural or legal person in the event of a decrease in the price or value of another financial instrument”.

The prohibition is applicable to all “companies listed on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Growth where the FSMA is the national competent authority for the most relevant market”. Please note that this is much wider than the restriction announced yesterday.

The prohibition applies also to index-related instruments, but only if the restricted shares represent more than 20% of the index weight.

The prohibition applies regardless of the place where the transaction is executed (i.e. on a trading venue or OTC). It does not apply to the activity of market making.

• The EBA has decided to postpone the EU-wide stress test to 2021
• In addition, the EBA recommends competent authorities to plan supervisory activities, including on-site inspections, in a pragmatic and flexible way, and possibly postpone those deemed non-essential
• Competent authorities are encouraged, where appropriate, to make full use of the flexibility embedded in the existing regulatory framework. The ECB-Banking Supervision’s decision to allow banks to cover Pillar 2 requirements with capital instruments other than common equity tier 1 (CET1) is an example. The use of Pillar 2 Guidance is another way to ensure that prudential regulation is countercyclical and banks can provide the necessary support to the household and corporate sectors

• Business Continuity Planning – All financial market participants should be ready to apply their contingency plans
• Market disclosure – Issuers should disclose as soon as possible any relevant significant information concerning the impacts of COVID-19 on their fundamentals, prospects or financial situation
• Financial Reporting – Issuers should provide transparency on the actual and potential impacts of COVID-19 in their 2019 year-end financial report if these have not yet been finalised or otherwise in their interim financial reporting disclosures
• Fund Management – Asset managers should continue to apply the requirements on risk management, and react accordingly