Brussels, 08/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 7 December, several MEPs from the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee suggested that the ECOFIN Council's compromise package on the new legislation reforming the financial supervision system in Europe should have given more teeth to the three new EU financial surveillance authorities (ESAs) (see EUROPE 10032). Werner Langen (EPP-ED, Germany) commented that the ECOFIN Council's conclusions document should have gone further and ensured that ESA decisions were more binding on the member states. His Austrian counterpart, Othmar Karas, said the Council's suggested legislation was a step backwards from the version unveiled by the European Commission. The compromise developed by the member states does not go far enough, as far as the European Parliament is concerned, which wants ESAs to be given the power to apply penalties. Giving a nuanced view, British Conservative MEP Vicky Ford said it was only to be expected that taxpayers would call their supervisors to account because massive amounts of taxpayers' money had been injected into failing banks, but the appointment of the ESA chairs by the European Commission did not make it possible to call them to account.
Attending the meeting to brief the MEPs on the Swedish Presidency's achievements in the second half of this year, Sweden's Finance Minister Anders Borg said the EU's finance ministers had decided to instruct the Presidency to open negotiations with the EP, which is co-legislator on financial supervision issues. He explained that the starting point, the de Larosière Report, had not been the perfect solution. Rather it was one possible way of boosting the EU financial supervision system. He commented that the MEPs might say that the ministers should have taken a harder line, but they had already achieved three positive outcomes, namely that structures would operate on macroeconomic and microeconomic supervisory levels; deciding on a highly ambitious timetable; and ensuring a united Europe on this issue. Being formed from a range of different countries and political parties, he said the EP should be able to reach its own compromise position.
City bonuses. With the exception of Sweden, France and the United Kingdom, Borg regretted that most countries had not yet started regulating city bonuses as decided upon at the Pittsburgh G20 summit. He said it would not be acceptable for institutions to continue with business as usual as if the crisis had never happened and tighter rules were required. Commenting on whether Sweden would join the euro, Borg pointed out that under Swedish law this was a question on which a referendum vote in favour was required. He said that the right policy on savings tax was to move away from deducting tax at source and electing instead to exchange information to prevent fraud and money laundering. (M.B./transl.fl)