Brussels, 03/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - There are no sufficiently compelling reasons to justify creating a European framework for crowdfunding, the European Commission announced in a report it published on Tuesday 3 May.
The European institution notes that the member states have started to set national frameworks in place to support the growth of the sector and ensure adequate investor protection. These frameworks are “broadly consistent in terms of the objectives and outcomes they seek to achieve, but are tailored to local markets and domestic regulatory approaches”, the Commission explains. As the sector continues to be mainly local and is evolving rapidly, it sees no reason to become involved, but has pledged to follow developments in the sector.
The responses it received to a specific public consultation are highly varied. The stakeholders, which are calling for an EU initiative, referred most often to the need to ensure investor protection. A number of responses also argued that EU intervention would make cross-border transactions at a lower cost easier.
Of the risks related to crowdfunding flagged up by the report, the Commission lists the loss of some or all of the capital invested or lesser investment yields, the fact that it is impossible to withdraw the investment and the lack of information. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)