“Europe’s security is our security,” said Theresa May in her speech at the Munich Security Conference. UK government

“Europe’s security is our security,” said Theresa May in her speech at the Munich Security Conference. UK government

May calls for unity on security

British prime minister Theresa May used a keynote speech at the Munich Security Conference at the weekend to call for European partners to agree to a new security treaty even before Brexit negotiations are completed. “This cannot be a time when any of us allow competition between partners, rigid institutional restrictions or deep-seated ideology to inhibit our cooperation and jeopardize the security of our citizens,” she said. May has even proposed that when cooperating with European agencies, Britain would “respect” the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

 

Another asset manager pivots to Luxembourg

The Financial Times reports that asset manager T Rowe Price has applied to the Commission De Surveillance Du Secteur Financier, Luxembourg’s financial regulator, to separate its UK and Luxembourg operations. The FT quotes the group’s Robert Higginbotham as saying that the decision was taken last year. “We needed to get started on this now if we were going to be ready in time [for Brexit],” he said.

 

European Monetary Fund gets Lagarde backing

International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde has said that she would have no problem with the European Stability Mechanism being transformed into a European Monetary Fund. The European Commission has mooted the idea, which would see the new institution placed under parliamentary control and anchored in European Union law. The French and German governments are also backing the move. In an interview with Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, Lagarde said: “The crisis the eurozone went through showed that it needs a crisis management system that is independent, able to act quickly and that works according to strict rules. What that mechanism is called is secondary. If one wants to call it European Monetary Fund, then please.”

 

Osch places 62nd in giant slalom

Luxembourg’s only athlete at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Matthieu Osch, finished 62nd out of a starting field of 110 competitors in the giant slalom on Sunday. The 18-year old was in 74th place after the first run but improved in the second run to end up 22.35 seconds behind the gold medallist, Marcel Hirscher of Austria. RTL has a video of Osch in action here.