Brussels, 11/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee hearing for Jonathan Hill, who was nominated European Commission for Financial Services yesterday, looks like it is going to be a rather heated affair.
The Greens/EFA at the Parliament described this nomination, orchestrated by the future president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, as a real “provocation” and as if the fox had been allowed to get into the chicken coop. Speaking on his website, German Green Sven Giegold was outraged with this nomination, “because it means that a financial industry lobbyist would be in charge of financial market regulation. Lord Hill was a founding director of Quiller Consultants and has provided advice to a wide range of clients, among others companies of the financial sector, such as HSBC. According to his declaration of interests for the House of Lords, he still holds shares in the company (Huntsworth plc) that acquired Quiller and provides a variety of other services to financial institutions”. He also said that Lord Hill with his well-developed contacts to the City of London and financial industry would be in a key position to influence future financial market regulation and that this industry was delighted with the nomination
At the beginning of the week, the Social Democrat group also reacted sharply to the attitude displayed by the United Kingdom for opposing European rules to limit banking bonuses at the European Court of Justice and the British financial industry's attempt to circumvent these bonus restrictions through the granting of different specific bonuses (see EUROPE 11150). The group's Italian leader, Gianni Pittella, launched a warning shot and called on the future Commissioner for Financial Services to make an explicit commitment to respecting European legislation throughout the European Union. The European Banking Authority will soon present its analysis into these practices.
The remit that Juncker has addressed to Hill clearly stipulates that the British Conservative will have to apply European rules in their totality. (MB)