Gathered in Helsinki for an informal meeting, European Finance Ministers discussed on Friday 13 September the different ways to revitalise the Capital Markets Union (CMU) and priorities for the next 5 years.
“There is a broad consensus that the CMU is not complete and that it must go further”, Finnish Finance Minister Mika Lintilä said at a press conference after the meeting.
The results of the discussion are a “valuable contribution” to the Commission's future work, said European Commissioner for Financial Services Valdis Dombrovskis, particularly when it comes to developing more opportunities for European savers.
According to one European source, the discussion, which was held behind closed doors between the ministers, was very “open”. Two experts were present to give their views. Overall, she said, it emerged that all Member States agreed to reform the CMU, but none really wanted to commit themselves. Each minister would have set out his or her “menu”, but there would not be any real convergence between their priorities.
Seven French proposals
The most talkative was the French Minister of Finance, Bruno Le Maire, who detailed, that very morning at the Eurofi Financial Forum, seven concrete proposals to relaunch the CMU.
First, he proposed that the Capital Markets Union should be given a new name by renaming itself the Savings and Investment Union – a much more concrete and tangible object in the eyes of citizens, he said.
“We should explain to citizens that the Capital Markets Union is not only in the interest of private companies, but also in their interest, for their savings”, he said.
The Minister also proffered the idea of a European employee savings scheme that would be “portable”, a genuine European reporting standard on social and environmental performance for corporates, an EU label for green retail savings products. He also called for a review of existing equivalence regimes with non-member states.
Cryptocurrencies: a consensus priority
If there is one priority that has emerged and that seems to be agreed upon by everyone, it is the need to act on cryptocurrencies.
Bruno Le Maire proposed the implementation of an EU action plan on cryptocurrencies and once again considered that a European framework in this area could be inspired by the French framework (see EUROPE 12236/16).
Strongly opposed to Facebook's stable cryptocurrencies project, Libra, he also called for the EU to work on a common position on this issue. “Under the current conditions, we should refuse Libra’s development within the EU. What is at stake is consumer safety [...] and also the sovereignty of European states”, he said on his arrival at the ministerial meeting.
He also reiterated his proposal to launch an international reflection on the creation of a public cryptology to be managed by central banks (see EUROPE 12322/15). “I have already spoken to Mario Draghi and Christine Lagarde to explain this proposal. And I will propose to the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in October to start thinking about creating such a public digital currency”, he said.
The French position is widely shared by other European countries, according to Bruno Le Maire. On Friday, France and Germany issued a joint statement recalling their serious concerns about Libra.
“France and Germany consider that the Libra project, as set out in Facebook’s blueprint, fails to convince that those risks will be properly addressed. We believe that no private entity can claim monetary power, which is inherent in the sovereignty of nations”, it says.
The Commission also remains on alert on this issue. “At the European level, we saw today lots of willingness to act on this together and swiftly. The Commission’s view is to make sure that any risk for investors and financial stability are properly understood and addressed”, said Valdis Dombrovskis at the end of the Eurogroup meeting on Friday morning.
The Commission is currently evaluating the EU regulatory framework to determine whether it is suitable for cryptocurrencies, including Libra (see EUROPE 12316/9), he recalled.
It sent a questionnaire to Facebook asking for more details about the project. Once the Commission has an overview, it can decide accordingly, he concluded. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana with Lucas Tripoteau)