At an initial exchange of views on the legislative package on market infrastructure and supervision, on Friday 12 December, European finance ministers expressed contrasting positions on the enhancement of supervision at EU level, proposed in early December by the European Commission in an extensive legislative package (see EUROPE 13766/17).
Meeting in Brussels at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, ministers welcomed the ambitious nature of the text, although some Member States expressed reservations about centralisation, which they considered premature and potentially costly.
“Unfortunately, the proposals focus for a large extent on the centralisation of supervision. This will not solve the problem at hand. It will not unlock the capital we need. It will bring additional layers of complexity and also costs”, said Luxembourg minister, Gilles Roth.
“Reality tells us that direct supervision might be a bit premature at this stage. ESMA has a limited experience in this area and still hasn’t got the necessary operational capacity to carry out such a role”, said Italian minister, Giancarlo Giorgetti.
“This part raises many questions from our side. For example, how cooperation would be organised between the national and EU level in a potential crisis scenario”, said Sweden’s Minister for Financial Markets, Niklas Wykman.
The Danish Presidency of the EU Council announced the rapid launch of technical work, with the convening of an initial working group on Monday 15 December, while the Commission argued in favour of preserving the package’s level of ambition and speeding up the timetable, believing it necessary to restore the EU’s credibility when it comes to integrating capital markets.
A compromise on securitisation. On Friday, the Danish Presidency also welcomed the progress made on other legislative proposals from the European Commission aimed at establishing a Savings and Investment Union (SIU). In particular, EU Member States have reached agreement on the proposal for revision of the securitisation regulatory framework (see EUROPE 13741/9).
“It’s the first proposal under the Savings and Investment Union (...). It’s also kind of a litmus test of our will to boost European capital markets and mobilise investments”, welcomed Danish Minister for Economic Affairs, Stephanie Lose, during the Council’s public session.
The compromise is expected to be formally approved by the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) before the winter break.
RIS. With regard to the Retail Investment Strategy package, the Danish Presidency believes that the next interinstitutional trilogue - scheduled for Wednesday 17 December - could be the last, paving the way for technical finalisation of the text in early 2026. According to information gathered by Agence Europe, a number of politically sensitive points remain under discussion, however, leaving uncertainty over the immediate outcome of these forthcoming negotiations (see EUROPE 13763/8).
FiDA. With regard to the proposal for a regulation on financial data access, the Danish Presidency deplored the lack, at this stage, of interinstitutional negotiations with the European Parliament, leaving this to the forthcoming Cypriot Presidency of the Council.
On Friday, the Commission urged the co-legislators to converge their respective positions, reiterating the strategic nature of the text in establishing a European framework for sharing financial data that creates value for customers and stimulates innovation in the European Union. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)