On Wednesday 25 November, the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) validated the procedure to be followed for the selection of the next chairs of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA).
According to a note from the Secretariat-General of the EU Council dated 20 November, a copy of which has been obtained by EUROPE, the candidates on each authority’s shortlist will be interviewed at an informal meeting of the members of the Financial Services Committee, accompanied by the Member States’ financial services attachés.
The financial services attachés will then have to agree on a candidate. “The starting point should be to support the candidate that has been ranked highest by the Board of Supervisors of each authority, unless a relevant number of Member States objects”, the note says.
As a reminder, the European Parliament wanted to be closely involved in this process and specifically to be able to organise informal hearings of all short-listed candidates (see EUROPE 12587/21).
The note states that the German EU Council Presidency intends first to hold an informal exchange of views with the chair of Parliament’s Economic Affairs Committee (ECON) in order to agree on a mutually acceptable candidate. Parliament would then be formally consulted, and the EU Council could then adopt an implementing decision designating the new chair of each authority.
The short list of ESMA candidates was expected on Wednesday 25 November, while the date of transmission from EIOPA is not yet known. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)