In her replies to written questions (see EUROPE 12566/18) put to her ahead of her hearing in the European Parliament on Friday 2 October, the European Commissioner-designate for Financial Services, Mairead McGuinness, assures that she will continue to give priority to an “ambitious” post-Covid-19 economic recovery strategy.
The Irish Christian Democrat has one advantage: she knows how to talk to MEPs. In her replies, the former First Vice-President of the European Parliament highlighted her 16 years of experience in the institution.
“My experience in Parliament means that I listen to many perspectives, which makes me a good negotiator and bridge builder between sometimes very different views”, she writes.
These are strengths that she intends to build on in the Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union portfolio, which has a direct impact on citizens, even more so in times of economic crisis, she said.
In this respect, she underlined the importance of the various measures taken to support the economic recovery reaching the consumers, borrowers and businesses in need.
She also believes it is important to ensure that banks can continue to fully support citizens and businesses. If confirmed in this position, she intends to insist that public sector financial institutions, such as national development banks and the European Investment Bank, complement the role of the private financial sector in supporting the economic recovery.
The recovery must also serve the economic transition, according to Mairead McGuinness. She promises to pursue a “renewed and ambitious strategy on sustainable finance” in this area and will specifically support the development of an EU standard for green bonds based on the EU taxonomy.
“Sustainability is not only green, but also social”, the Commissioner-designate said, who also pledged to assess whether and how an EU social taxonomy could address some of the challenges of achieving social objectives.
Banking Union. Another major priority for the candidate is the finalisation of the Banking Union, with the “emergency” implementation of the European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS) and the safety net (‘backstop’) for the Single Resolution Fund (SRF).
Asked about her intention to honour the commitment made by her predecessor to carry out the latest Basel III reforms faithfully, the Irish Christian Democrat confirmed that this is indeed her intention, while pointing out that the impact of Covid-19 on the banks’ financial situation had to be assessed and taken into account. “If the analysis shows that certain aspects need to be taken into account, I will not hesitate to use the margin we have to do so, while preserving the integrity of the overall framework”, she replied.
With regard to money laundering, the Commissioner-designate assures that she will work towards the establishment of a new, fully independent, and properly resourced European supervisor, who will be capable of working directly with national supervisors to ensure that recent scandals do not recur. If confirmed in this position, she also promises to pursue infringement proceedings already open against Member States and will not hesitate to open new ones if necessary.
On the issue of country-by-country tax transparency - added at the request of the S&D group - the Irishwoman assured that this is “a high priority” for her and said she is “determined to work tirelessly with Parliament and the Council to break the current stalemate”.
Brexit. Finally, on the issue of Brexit, Ms McGuinness said she is ready to engage with the United Kingdom in an “autonomous, voluntary, structured and flexible framework for regulatory cooperation”.
While she does not believe that the risks to financial stability have increased in recent weeks, she nevertheless stressed that, given the recent increase in tensions between the two sides, it is necessary to continue to prepare for all possible scenarios, including a scenario where there would be no further equivalences.
See her answers to the written questions: https://bit.ly/2SbpADV (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)