15/10/2018 (Agence Europe) – Inter-institutional negotiations on creating a controlled quality label for pan-European personal pension products (PEPP) launched on Thursday 11 October. According to a European source, the institutions all hope to reach agreement by the end of the year. This first trilogue session confirmed that the positions of the European Parliament and the Council are fairly close on most subjects, the source went on to explain. The main anticipated stumbling block will no doubt be the competent authority in the authorisation procedure for providers to sell products labelled 'PEPP' within the EU. Readers may recall that although the Commission and the Parliament (see EUROPE 12097) want this role to go to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), the Council wants it to be renationalised (see EUROPE 12043). Three political trilogue sessions are currently scheduled, with the next on 25 October. (MF)