EU financial support to Finance Watch and BETTER FINANCE has paid off, according to an evaluation report published by the European Commission on Thursday 17 December.
Between 2017 and 2020 (see EUROPE 11725/20), the €6 million allocated to the two organisations to strengthen consumer participation in EU financial services policy making and inform consumers about financial regulatory issues has generally met its objectives, according to the Commission.
The report acknowledges that the work of Finance Watch and BETTER FINANCE has enriched policy debates and that the two organisations have offered a different perspective that policymakers might otherwise have missed or overlooked.
The Commission also considers that both organisations have provided important expertise through their contributions to the public consultations and their participation in numerous expert groups of the Commission and the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs).
They also shared their views with decision-makers through other means, such as hearings, meetings, discussion papers, workshops, round tables and conferences.
According to the report, some of the changes proposed by the organisations during the legislative negotiations have in fact been taken up by the legislator, notably on the Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP).
In 2017-2019, Finance Watch received €2,686,957 in EU grants and has also received additional funding from third parties, in particular from the MAVA Foundation.
For its part, BETTER FINANCE received, over the same period, €1,092,947 in EU grants, without receiving much funding from third parties. A significant part of its budget was financed by membership fees.
The Commission points out that, given their dependence on EU funding, the two organisations would not be able to represent the interests of consumers in the same way in the absence of EU funding.
“EU funding therefore continues to be essential to strengthen consumer participation in EU policy making in the area of financial services”, it concluded.
See the report: https://bit.ly/3atxBhT (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)