Brussels, 22/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - While fourteen Member States have rallied, on Wednesday within the COREPER, to an agreement on the draft resolution concerning the Lamfalussy report, Germany continued to withhold its answer, Thursday evening, before the beginning of the Ecofin Council called in Stockholm to try and resolve the problem (see EUROPE of 22 March, p.8). A telephone conversation between the Swedish Minister Bosse Ringholm, acting President of the Ecofin Council, and the German Finance Minister Hans Eichel did not allow for a solution to the situation. The report by the Group of Wise chaired by the Belgian Alexandre Lamfalussy proposes to accelerate the decision-making for reform the European financial market by 2005, in order to catch-up the delay experienced by the European Union compared to the United States (see EUROPE of 12 March, p.7). The mechanism proposed simplifies the rules for decision-making, confiding the adopting of the framework legislation to the co-decision procedure, and the implementation measures to a European Securities Committee deciding on proposals from the Commission.
Germany, supported in the beginning by most of the Member States, wanted to restrain the power of the Commission by adding a "aerosol clause" that would force the European executive to take into account the majority opinion expressed by the regulators consultative committee. The compromise that found itself, Thursday evening, on the table of the Finance Ministers withdraws this clause from the draft resolution, while referring to the decision of 28 June 1999 on the Comitology in which, let us recall, the Commission undertook, in the aim of finding a balanced solution for the implementation measures concerning the securities markets recognised as being particularly sensitive, to take into account as many of the Council's predominant views as possible. If this latest formulation removes any obligation for the Commission it remains to be seen to what exact extent it will have to "take into account" the Council's views. Germany fears that the Commission does not take into account the position of the Member States, stated a diplomatic source. According to some analysts, Germany is also confronted with the rigidity of its financial market, badly suited to present development, and fears, moreover, loosing influence in the market integration process.
The Commission and fourteen Member States awaited, on Thursday evening, a change from Germany enabling to open the way to the modernisation of the financial market, needed to make Europe more competitive.