Sven Giegold

Financial market regulation: EU Commissioner Hill announces deregulation agenda on advice from the finance industry

EU Commissioner Jonathan Hill presented the results of a consultation on the EU regulatory framework for financial services and an outlook on the EU Commission’s course on financial markets policies. Stakeholders from the financial industry were highly overrepresented in the consultation. MEP Sven Giegold, financial and economic policy spokesperson of the Greens/EFA group, discussed the results and the plans of the EU Commission at the conference hosted by EU Commissioner Hill. MEP Sven Giegold commented:

 

“The EU Commission asks the fox how to guard the henhouse. The results bear the clear hallmarks of the finance industry: 80% of respondents come from the finance industry while only 5% are from civil society or academia. The EU Commission has to take ensure an adjustment through more recommendations of civil society organisations and academia. The EU Commission must ensure a balance of input for their future legislation in financial services.

It is alarming that EU Commissioner Hill wants to make adjustments of the reforms on the basis of the results of this consultation. Hill calls it “maintenance” of the financial market regulation, but in reality this is a lobby-driven shift in direction. Instead of a deregulation agenda further reforms are needed. We need a basic revision of the overly complex financial market rules. The EU Commission doesn’t have the guts for a big reform. What we need is a single, less complex book of financial services law, which combines strict and simple rules. The EU Commission made some good proposals in the areas of reporting and relief for small, stabile banks. However, Hill failed to make proposals that reduce the costs of the overly complex finance sector for the real economy and investors. The EU Commission’s evaluation lacks any will to make financial market regulation macroeconomically more intelligent or strengthen the sustainable financial sector.  

The EU Commission is driven by the fallacy that tougher regulation of the financial markets comes at the expense of economic dynamic. In fact, financial market regulation is not the major reason for the economic stagnation, but weak demand in the aftermath of the euro crisis as well as a lack of a common economic and financial policy in the euro zone.

Hill should think this over once again, because there will be no majority in the European Parliament for such a change of direction in financial market regulation. He has to ensure a balance in his proposals.”

 

The results of the consultation of the EU Commission: http://ec.europa.eu/finance/consultations/2015/financial-regulatory-framework-review/docs/summary-of-responses_en.pdf

 

Speech of EU Commissionar Jonathan Hill on the results of the consultation on 17th of May 2016 in Brussels: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-16-1788_en.htm

 

BALZ report of the European Parliament which calls for a balanced continuation of EU financial market reforms (supported by a broad majority):

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+TA+P8-TA-2016-0006+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN

 

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