Calibrating central banks’ mandate. Central banking objectives, tasks, and measures within unitary and federal constitutional settings

In a context of institutional flexibility and political necessity, central banks’ responses to the recent crises modelled the scope of their mandate, in law and in action. The current mandates of the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve System, the Bank of Canada, and of the Bank of England are examined in their constitutional, statutory, and/or legal sources. This inquiry is complemented with recent policy statements and institutional discourse to interpret the mandate of those central banks in action and their underpinning objectives, tasks, and measures, during and in the aftermath of the crises. The central banks’ mandate is furthermore contextualised within the examined central banks’ organisational structure and the constitutional settings of the EU and of the states in which the central banks are embedded

Irlande-France: le nouvel élan économique entre deux voisins européens Multiplier les opportunités et investir dans la soutenabilité et le numérique

Les relations économiques entre l’Irlande et la France, notre plus proche voisin au sein de l’Union européenne d’un point de vue géographique, sont plus florissantes que jamais, et s’illustrent à travers d’excellents résultats. La France se place au 7ème rang de nos partenaires pour les exportations et au 3ème rang pour les importations. Nos échanges bilatéraux de biens et de services ont considérablement augmenté ces dernières années, atteignant le chiffre record de €30 milliards en 2022. Nos liaisons maritimes directes ont plus que triplé depuis 2020, ouvrant la voie à de nouvelles opportunités et à une plus grande amitié entre nos peuples. Cet accroissement de la connectivité favorise le développement de liens commerciaux et contribue à la croissance du tourisme. Un demi-million de touristes venus de France se rendent en Irlande chaque année. De ce fait, la France est le 4ème plus important marché pour le secteur du tourisme. Les touristes irlandais sont aussi nombreux à se rendre en France. Avec la récente mise en place d’un billet combiné train et bateau entre l’Irlande et la France, les voyages qui s’inscrivent dans un cadre durable n’ont jamais été aussi disponibles. Ces derniers chiffres soulignent l’importance du marché français pour les exportateurs irlandais. La France représente le deuxième marché de l’Irlande de la zone euro pour les entreprises partenaires de Enterprise Ireland, avec des exportations s’élevant à €1,61 milliard en 2022. Les entreprises irlandaises emploient plus de 31 000 personnes en France. Le rapport souligne également l’attractivité de l’Irlande pour les investissements français. En 2022, l’Irlande était le deuxième pays le plus attractif pour les IDE français, tandis que les entreprises françaises en Irlande ont créé plus de 30 000 emplois directs. L’Irlande et la France sont de proches partenaires dans l’UE depuis 50 ans et les entreprises françaises et irlandaises travaillent aujourd’hui ensemble à la réalisation de projets européens stratégiques et majeurs. La construction du câble électrique Celtic Interconnector, qui reliera Cork à la Bretagne, a commencé, et le projet devrait être achevé en 2026, avec un rattachement au réseau en 2027. Des liens économiques plus étroits se tissent, notamment entre nos ports, nos chercheurs et notre industrie, et la coopération se développe aussi bien à l’échelle nationale que spécifiquement en régions. En novembre 2023, à l’occasion de la visite en Irlande de la Première ministre Elisabeth Borne, une déclaration d’intention commune sur la coopération dans le secteur de l’énergie a été signée entre nos deux gouvernements. Cet accord va être le cadre permettant à nos deux pays d’accélérer la décarbonisation des systèmes énergétiques, au moment où l’Europe met tout en œuvre pour devenir le premier continent neutre en carbone d’ici 2050. Une réelle proximité entre les individus est essentielle afin de transformer des contacts en relations d’affaires sur le long terme. NetworkIrlande, la Chambre de commerce dont les membres sont des entreprises irlandaises dynamiques implantées en France, a obtenu cette année le statut de Chambre de commerce, et une partie de son activité se concentre depuis peu sur Lyon. Le dynamisme de nos relations commerciales trouve la une de ses plus belles illustrations. Dans le même temps, il est clair qu’un réel potentiel demeure inexploité. Des investissements français plus conséquents seraient possibles en Irlande, ainsi qu’un accroissement des exportations irlandaises vers la France. Le rapport identifie certains des secteurs où de vrais potentiels de croissance existent. Nous sommes heureux à la perspective de poursuivre les efforts engagés pour un partenariat économique plus étroit avec nos amis français. La France est un partenaire essentiel pour l’Irlande au sein de l’Union européenne. Neale Richmon

An integrated system for banking supervision in the Banking Union

Defence date: 24 February 2020Examining Board: Professor Stefan Grundmann, European University Institute (Supervisor); Professor Régis Bismuth, Sciences Po Paris (Co-Supervisor); Professor Joanne Scott, European University Institute; Dr. Pedro Gustavo Teixeira, European Central BankThe European Central Bank (ECB) has been conferred exclusive competence in banking supervision and enjoys significant powers in leading banking supervision within the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) in the euro area. Such leeway for action is essential for efficient decision-making and steering ‘ongoing’ supervision; while the national competent authorities act in a decentralised implementation framework. Yet the SSM as a system is not fully integrated – institutionally, administratively, in its still evolving governance – and therefore cannot be considered single despite its name. The SSM operates nonetheless within shared and interlocked legal orders, exhibiting some features of cooperative federalism but remaining subject to evolving centripetal and centrifugal forces. An integrated system for banking supervision has an institutional and substantive dimension. I examine the SSM supervisory architecture, institutional organisation, and its governance with a legal and contextual approach. The position of the ECB is outstanding in leading direct banking supervision and in its oversight over the system, including an expanding normative power. Nonetheless, the preparation, implementation and execution of supervision may be exercised in different instances, including through joint structures. In a context of an unharmonized regulatory framework and banking markets fragmented along national lines, how can banking supervision be achieved efficiently in the Banking Union? I define the concept of efficiency as including qualitative and adequacy aspects. Qualitatively, banking supervision should be consistent, uniform, and harmonised in the system. Adequate supervision should attain the SSM objectives through the use of (limited) resources, proportionally. I conclude that applying proportionality and sincere cooperation, general principles of law, and a governing principle of consistency should sustain the integrity of the system. The SSM must keep and develop cooperative and incentivising mechanisms to pursue its objectives – banks’ safety and soundness, the stability of the financial system – in the interest of the Union as whole

Recent trends in UK financial sector regulation and possible implications for the EU, including its approach to equivalence

Brexit poses unique challenges for policymakers in the EU as the most important financial centre in Europe is now outside its regulatory framework. We expect significant divergence over the medium- to long-term, given recent legislative and regulatory initiatives in the UK, but also developments of the regulatory framework in the EU. However, there seem to be limited concerns of an easing of the tax evasion and Anti-Money Laundering framework in the UK. We expect a limited use of the EU equivalence regime for the UK.This document was provided by the Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies at the request of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON)

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Calibrating central banks’ mandate: central banking objectives, tasks, and measures within unitary and federal constitutional settings

In a context of institutional flexibility and political necessity, central banks’ responses to the recent crises modelled the scope of their mandate, in law and in action. The current mandates of the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve System, the Bank of Canada, and of the Bank of England are examined in their constitutional, statutory, and/or legal sources. This inquiry is complemented with recent policy statements and institutional discourse to interpret the mandate of those central banks in action and their underpinning objectives, tasks, and measures, during and in the aftermath of the crises. The central banks’ mandate is furthermore contextualised within the examined central banks’ organisational structure and the constitutional settings of the EU and of the states in which the central banks are embedded.The ADEMU Working Paper Series is being supported by the European Commission Horizon 2020 European Union funding for Research & Innovation, grant agreement No 649396

The SSM and the ECB decision-making governance

This chapter retains a twofold micro-level and transversal approach to the SSM and decision-making governance of the ECB in its supervisory arm. At the micro level, the decision-making procedures are thoroughly examined, whereas the transversal approach situates the ECB’s governance within the SSM, and comparatively to the European Commission’s decision-making procedures. Decision-making is an intricate process within the SSM. This chapter sheds light on the current arrangements for ECB decision-making governance. Section II assesses the ECB decision-making governance, including a delegation framework that entered into force in 2017 for the adoption of specific supervisory decisions. Section III examines the SSM governance and shows the interplay between the national and European levels, in which the ECB exerts its oversight over the functioning of the SSM as a system to ensure consistency in high supervisory standards and effective banking supervision

An ambitious and collective response to the COVID-19 shock? : ECB's monetary policy package and recent EU policy measures

Published online 18th March 2020European economies are experiencing a major shock with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented public health challenge. This shock destabilises growth prospects, disrupts production as well as the confidence of all actors, affecting overall supply, demand and investment. The anticipated risks relate to liquidity risk, an interruption or significant slowdown of the credit flow to the economy, and instability in the markets (already observed in stock prices, bond yields and the euro appreciation). These risks could all tighten and deteriorate financing conditions in the euro area and accentuate income and revenue shortfalls for households and firms