Office of the Chief Financial Officer

12. Welcomes the adoption of the Strategy and the Action Plan on the reform of the judiciary 2013-2018, built around the key principles of independence, impartiality, competence, quality of the judiciary and freedom from political interference; urges the authorities to intensify this reform in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission, especially with regard to the role of the parliament in judicial appointments and the independence of the prosecution, and with a view to the screening process of Chapter 23, which commenced on 25 September 2013; stresses the importance of strengthening the independence of High Judicial and State Prosecutorial Councils and reducing the backlog of cases, as a necessary condition for the successf ...[+++]ul sequencing of the entire reform process; calls on the authorities to provide all the necessary resources for the Judicial Academy, which should be instrumental in guaranteeing merit-based recruitments; emphasises the need for continuous training of judges and prosecutors to deal with complex financial cases and economic crimes; urges the authorities responsible to ensure a transparent and merit-based process of appointment of judges and prosecutors as well as a solid track-record of disciplinary proceedings against the judicial personnel; insists further on the need to ensure timely justice together with the unification of jurisprudence, the publication of, and easy access to, all judicial decisions immediately after adoption and the random allocation of cases in all courts; is concerned about the legal uncertainty arising from the number of judges carrying out their duties in acting capacity; reiterates the fact that a strong and independent judiciary is key to Serbia’s capacity to meet EU membership criteria;

First of all, we have Mr. Stephen O'Connor, chief financial officer and assistant commissioner for the finance and administration branch.

22. Stresses that the reports of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on CRD IV , currently being discussed with the Council, represent an important step in tackling shadow banking in a positive way by imposing capital treatment of liquidity lines to structured investment vehicles and conduits, by setting a large exposure limit (25% of own funds) for all unregulated entities, which will help in nudging banks towards the Net stable funding ratio, and by recognising the higher risk, relative to regulated and non-financial entities, of exposures to such entities in the prudential provisions for liquidity risks;

22. Stresses that the reports of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on CRD IV, currently being discussed with the Council, represent an important step in tackling shadow banking in a positive way by imposing capital treatment of liquidity lines to structured investment vehicles and conduits, by setting a large exposure limit (25 % of own funds) for all unregulated entities, which will help in nudging banks towards the Net stable funding ratio, and by recognising the higher risk, relative to regulated and non-financial entities, of exposures to such entities in the prudential provisions for liquidity risks;