📑 EU financial rules in 2026: climate risk Climate change is not only an environmental issue. It's also a financial stability issue. 🧵 1/4

From shadow banking to climate risk, the digital euro to AI governance, the Finance Watch team and our members are sharing the latest perspectives on debates shaping the future of finance every day. Well worth a follow! 🔔

Climate disasters are making more homes & businesses uninsurable. Now, costs are shifted onto households & taxpayers and people risk losing their homes & livelihoods. Breaking this cycle of insurability requires coordinated environmental, prudential, and fiscal reforms 👉 bit.ly/4vZyGE9

Climate change is turning parts of Europe into an insurance nightmare

Frequent, expensive natural disasters are testing Europe’s ability to protect itself against the cost of global warming.

politico.eu

New #euros are on the way 💶✨ Cash is universal & available to all. But in the digital age, protecting cash isn’t enough. Now, most day-to-day payments in the EU are made without cash. That's why we advocate for universal access to cash & its digital equivalent, the #digitaleuro.

The European Parliament has adopted its position on the digital euro. 💼 Finance Watch has advocated for free basic use, wide acceptance, easy access and stronger privacy protections. These issues are now part of the debate ahead of trilogue negotiations. 🧵1/2

📢 We’re hiring a Grants Administration Intern in Brussels! Want to help finance serve society and the planet? Join Finance Watch and support our Operations & Projects team. 💼 Learn more & apply 👉 www.finance-watch.org/job/job-offe...

📢 #JobAlert: We're hiring a (Senior) Research & Advocacy Officer – Public Finance! Work on EU fiscal rules, debt sustainability, climate risks, policy research and advocacy. 💼 Join us in Brussels to make finance serve society. Apply now 🔗 www.finance-watch.org/job/senior-r...

📢 We’re hiring a Head of Operations & Finance in Brussels. Oversee finance, HR, grants, governance, compliance, IT, and internal operations. Send your CV & motivation letter to 📩 recruitment@finance-watch.org. Subject: Head of Operations & Finance - Vacancy www.finance-watch.org/job/job-offe...

🚨 Traditional risk models are leaving the financial system driving blind. In our new report, Finance Watch proposes a science-based macroprudential buffer to protect banks from climate chaos and radical uncertainty. Read the full report: www.finance-watch.org/policy-porta... #safetransition

Report – Towards a climate-resilient banking sector | Finance Watch

finance-watch.org

If only financial crises came with #heatwave alerts... 🥵 Extreme weather disrupts businesses, damages infrastructure, drives up insurance losses and puts pressure on the economy. The climate is changing. So should financial regulation!

Last month, a small but historic win: member states can spend an extra 0.3% GDP on an ‘energy buffer’. It shows that: 🩵 Fiscal rules are political choices 🩵 If Europe can find fiscal space for #defence, it can do so for energy security, climate resilience, and ending our dependence on fossil fuels!

EU to relax budget rules to allow energy spending

Proposed buffer would help governments offset higher costs triggered by Iran war without breaching deficit limits

ft.com

Alongside civil society including @triodosuk.bsky.social, @febeaethicalfin.bsky.social, & @germanwatch.bsky.social, we affirm that #simplification must not mean lower capital requirements, weaker buffers or a rollback of the safeguards introduced after the 2008 financial crisis. Read the letter 👇

A historic step for Europe's monetary sovereignty! 🇪🇺 💶 The @europarl.europa.eu backed the #DigitalEuro, bringing public money into the digital age & reducing Europe’s dependence on foreign payment giants. That makes Europe’s payments more inclusive, sovereign & resilient.

‘A historic day’: European Parliament backs digital euro | Euractiv

Supporters say scheme is crucial to reduce Europe's dependence on US payment providers

euractiv.com

🎉 Thank you to everyone who joined us for #FWConference2026! 15 years after Finance Watch was founded in the wake of the global financial crisis, the conversations in Brussels demonstrated that the need for robust, forward-looking financial regulation remains as important as ever.

Our secretary general @ibuscke.bsky.social joins commissioner for financial services and the savings & investments union Maria Luís Albuquerque for a fireside chat during the #FWConference2026 at the national bank of Belgium.

During our panel session, Verena Ross from ESMA, MEP Jonás Fernández from @socialistsanddemocrats.eu & Rebecca Christie from @bruegel.org debate the topic of financial resilience in uncertain times. #FWConference2026

Géraldine Thiry, director at the National Bank of Belgium, addresses the debate around simplification during her speech: "We must recast the conversation as one of robustness over fragility." #FWConference2026

Our secretary general @ibuscke.bsky.social just opened Finance Watch’s 15th anniversary conference at the National Bank of Belgium to discuss the future of financial regulation in uncertain times. She asserts that "resilient banks are a life insurance for our way of life." #FWConference2026

📣 TODAY: Finance Watch is kicking off its 15th anniversary conference at the National Bank of Belgium. We'll talk about how the EU can ensure that its financial system supports European long-term objectives. Stay tuned for the sharpest insights & most memorable quotes as the conversations unfold!

🌍 🚨 Big banks like JP Morgan are increasingly concerned about the irreversible impacts of #ClimateChange... yet they’re still financing fossil fuel expansion! That’s why regulators must step in to make sure banks capture the scale of climate disruption & stop fueling a climate financial crisis.

100+ members. 20+ European countries. One shared goal: making finance serve society. 📑 Finance Watch’s 2025 Annual Report reflects both the work we do and the network that makes it possible. 🔗 Discover the full report 👇 www.finance-watch.org/blog/finance...

Trust in the #DigitalEuro requires clear information on its design. That’s why public debate matters. Online payments work like today’s. Offline payments keep transaction details private. Cash stays. The digital euro adds choice, not replacement. Learn more 👉 www.finance-watch.org/blog/the-dig...

Gen Zifying the digital euro wasn’t on our bingo card, but here we are! 🫡 The #DigitalEuro could let people across the eurozone pay electronically with greater accessibility, control & peace of mind. Learn more about what the digital euro could change (or not) 👉 bit.ly/49Uj7Fs

A level playing field for US & EU banks would mean *higher capital requirements* for Europe. 👀 That's right! There is no systemic evidence that EU banks have too much capital & the US too little. Nor is there evidence that lower requirements are what allow US banks to invest more in innovation.

Bankenlobby fordert gelockerte Kapitalvorschriften – EZB widerspricht

Die EU überprüft ihre Bankenregeln. Die Lobby verspricht 1,7 Billionen Euro mehr Kredite. Doch das Versprechen ist falsch.

fr.de

How can financial regulation support EU strategic autonomy in an unstable world?🏦 Join Finance Watch for its 15th anniversary high-level conference in Brussels! 📅 10 June | 17:00 - 19:00 (followed by a networking reception) Programme & registration👇 www.finance-watch.org/event/confer...

Digital payments are routine across Europe. But they don’t work equally for everyone. The #DigitalEuro could add another payment option alongside cash and existing services, making payments more accessible. 🔗 Read more in our blog: www.finance-watch.org/blog/the-dig...

The @ec.europa.eu is rewriting EU banking rules. 🏦💶 In a new Euractiv op-ed, Finance Watch reflects on Europe’s banking rules, why they were introduced, and the arguments defining reform now.

Who still believes in the post-2008 financial crisis banking reforms? | Euractiv

18 years on from the largest financial crisis in living memory, the prudential lessons are being lost

euractiv.com

Europe’s ambitious sustainable finance legislation risks becoming a greenwashing loophole due to fragmented enforcement and a lack of oversight, undermining the green transition and misallocating capital, says @axelle-vw.bsky.social . 

Europe’s green finance rules need teeth to be enforceable

Strong oversight and real sanctions are needed to avoid derailing the transition and keep the market fair and reliable, says Axelle Van Wynsberghe of Finance Watch.

greencb.co

Why is everyone suddenly talking about #PrivateCredit? 👀 Since 2008, the new model has exploded in size, but without the same rules, transparency, or safety buffers that banks have. A 🧵 on what’s actually inside these funds and why they pose a risk to the global financial system… 1/3

Conference: How should financial regulation evolve to support Europe’s strategic objectives? 🏛️ Book your seat now to hear from an exceptional line up of leading policymakers and experts. 🗓️ 10 June | Brussels 🔗 Registration: www.finance-watch.org/event/confer... #15yearsOfFinanceWatch