Brussels, 13/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the members of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee told Mr. Lamfalussy of the need to tighten the protection of investors on the European financial markets. At the end of an exchange of views (behind closed doors) with the Chair of the Committee of Wise Men appointed to examine the regulation of the security's market, German Social-Democrat Christa Randzio-Plath (who chairs the EP Committee) referred to the concern of MEPs of setting up an effective market supervision system. She related some of their questions as to the application of an approach based on home country supervision (country where the financial institution is located), principle that seems to work well for banks but that may not be the most adapted for other sectors. Speaking personally, the MEP considered that the setting up of a central supervisory authority would not be the right way forward, given market diversity, but that there needed to be more coordination between national supervision bodies.
Ms. Randzio-Plath insisted on recalling that members had been "astonished" at the setting up of the Committee of Wide Men, and at the fact that it was not the European Commission itself that was doing the job that had been handed to the Wise Men. "We have spoken of this with Commissioner Bolkestein, who told us that that did not place its role back into question", the MEP went on, while considering that, at a time when discussion on the balance between the intergovernmental and Community methods was raging, the institutional problem needed addressing.
You may recall that the Committee chaired by Mr. Lamfalussy will submit an initial drat report on 9 November, in view of the EcoFin Council of 27 November, then a final report, on 15 February 2001, to be presented to the European Summit of Stockholm.