Brussels, 23/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - When the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee started working on the new package of EU legislation on financial supervision on Monday 20 November 2009, its chair, Sharon Bowles (ALDE, UK), said the EP would not be able to conclude its work until the summer. Given the niceties of EP processes, she told this newsletter at the AGM of the European Liberal and Democrat Party in Barcelona on Friday 20 November that it would take the EP six months. Noting that the aim was to reach agreement in principle on first reading, she said the EP held half the decision-making powers and was not going to simply rubberstamp a decision by the Council of Ministers, even if the Council is taking the lead. Bowles mentioned two problems with the content of the rules - low representation on the European crisis management committee of people from the insurance and securities industries compared with a high proportion of bankers; and restrictions on the binding powers of the three new EU supervision authorities to be set up to ensure their decisions do not impinge on member states' budgetary powers.
At the end of October 2009, EU finance ministers agreed in principle on the macroeconomic aspects of the new package of legislation which includes the establishment of a European Crisis Management Committee to give early warnings and make recommendations about macroeconomic risks to financial stability (see EUROPE 10002). The Swedish Presidency is pulling out the stops to get the Council to reach political agreement in December 2009 on the microeconomic aspects of the new package of legislation. (M.B./transl.fl)