The Economic and Financial Affairs Council, which will meet on Friday 17 June, is expected to adopt its compromise position on the amendment of the Solvency II Directive (2009/138) on the taking up and pursuit of the business of insurance and reinsurance in the European Union. At the last meeting of Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper), “the text as proposed was essentially accepted”, a source confirmed at a press briefing on Monday 13 June.
This proposal aims to review the prudential framework applicable to the insurance sector in a comprehensive manner, covering a wide range of issues, including - proportionality; - quality control, reporting; long-term assurance measures; - macroprudential tools; - adapting the framework to the ‘European Green Deal’; - supervision of cross-border insurance groups and activities.
In the European Parliament, MEPs had expressed their wish to give more protection to consumers and to give more importance to climate risk, during the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) session in April (see EUROPE 12936/19). On Monday 13 June, the ECON Committee examined the report by Markus Ferber (EPP, Germany).
Mr Ferber proposed some changes to the Commission’s proposal. For example, he would like to raise the threshold for the application of the regime so that small insurance companies are not covered by the text. He also wants to ease the supervision of cross-border transactions, which he believes “are not inherently risky”. It is, in his view, a question of return and profitability for the insured.
Eero Heinäluoma (S&D, Finland) said “there is work to be done to find a balance”. He criticised Ferber for “his soft approach on low risk”. “This cannot be an excuse for deregulation”, he added. This criticism was refuted by Mr Ferber.
The rapporteur’s proposal to remove the climate risk came as a surprise to his colleagues further to the left. Gilles Boyer (Renew Europe, France) said that “this subject deserves proposals beyond a simple study by EIOPA - the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority”.
Markus Ferber replied that he was not against taking climate risk into account, but stressed the importance of the nature of the equity capital. He wants the approach to be no longer based on risk.
Amendments must be tabled by Tuesday 12 July and will be considered on Wednesday 31 August.
To read the EU Council’s general approach: https://aeur.eu/f/23y
To read the report by Markus Ferber: https://aeur.eu/f/23z (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)