The completion of the banking and capital market union, food speculation and inflation were all topics discussed in the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on Tuesday 14 June, during the structured dialogue with Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for Financial Services.
In her opening speech, Ms McGuinness summarised the financial sanctions imposed on Russia since the country invaded Ukraine, put in place “with international partners including the US, Japan, the UK and Canada”, and their impact. For instance, 1,100 individuals and 100 companies have already been sanctioned. “By cutting off 10 major Russian and 4 Belarussian banks from SWIFT, this was a bold step impairing the ability of those banks to interact internationally”, she said.
Food speculation under scrutiny
Mick Wallace (The Left, Ireland), however, criticised McGuinness for the impact of these measures on Europeans. “Are sanctions not self-defeating? We are not acting in our own interest”, he said. “We are trying to stop the financing of the war, and this has an impact on Europe. But no one said it wouldn’t, the consequences are on both sides”, the Commissioner responded. She also stressed the need to support Ukraine in the face of Vladimir Putin’s “deliberate efforts to weaponise food”.
As food safety was discussed at the plenary session in Strasbourg (see EUROPE 12967/7), Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA, Netherlands) asked Ms McGuinness about the role of food speculation, expressing concern about the work of lobbies. “We expect more action from the Commission on this issue”, he said. The Commissioner acknowledged that speculation was an “uncertainty factor on the market”, but that it was “difficult to see the difference between speculation and market movements”. She assured that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) was monitoring this closely, but that it was not in a position to propose anything at the moment.
Banking union progressing slower than capital markets union
“We might see fragmentation of the financial landscape at the global level as well as the fragmentation of the international political and economic community. This fragmentation is not good news for those who believe in globally open, integrated and competitive markets”, Ms McGuinness warned.
Jonás Fernández (S&D, Spain) asked about financial fragmentation due to public debt. She acknowledged that the banking union in the euro area was “not an easy subject” and said that “the President of the Eurogroup is trying to find a roadmap to achieve the banking union”.
On Thursday 16 June in Luxembourg, the Eurogroup will not agree on a detailed programme to complete the banking union (see other news). It will seek to provide guidance to the European Commission for further harmonisation of the banking crisis management framework and national bank deposit guarantee schemes.
The capital markets union, on the other hand, is progressing (see EUROPE 12965/29). The Ecofin Council is expected to come to an agreement in principle on two legislative proposals, one on the reform of prudential rules for insurance and the other on alternative investment funds (see EUROPE 12970/20).
Isabel Benjumea (EPP, Spain) said she was concerned about the loss of purchasing power for savers and the additional costs for entrepreneurs caused by inflation. She asked Ms McGuinness about her strategy for retail investors and access to capital for businesses.
The Commissioner replied that she had a step-by-step retail investment strategy, for example, for products for women. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)