Brussels, 30/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - Next week the Commission will be presenting its fifth interim report on implementation of the Financial Services Action Plan adopted in May 1999. It will point to the important progress achieved during the Belgian Presidency and, 25 of the 42 measures having been completed. Next year, however, the Council and the European Parliament should adopt 10 legislative measures if the deadlines set by the different European Councils are to be respected.
In the section that the Commission categorises as, Important Progress,: 1) The political agreement of the Council on the "Distance marketing Directive"; 2) the adoption of the directive on money-laundering; 3) the adoption of the Regulation on a Statute for a European Company on 8 October; 4) the imminent adoption of the Directives on investment funds following the favourable opinion given it during the second EP reading accepting the joint position of the Council; 5) the imminent adoption of the Insurance Solvency Margin I; 6) the political agreement on the Insurance Intermediaries Directive at the Internal Market Council on 26 November; 7) the setting up of committees for securities as proposed in the "Lamfalussy" report.
But some concerns remain: 1) the directive on pension funds is still blocked at the Council (the EP gave its opinion on it in July); 2) the proposed directives on prospectuses provided by companies quoted on the stock exchange; 3) the proposed directive on International Accounting Standards; 4) savings taxes; 5) market abuses.
The Commission report points to the ten proposals that are due to be adopted at the end of 2002 either during: 1) the Spanish Presidency: Directives on distance marketing, prospectuses and market abuse and the International Accounting Standards Regulation or; 2) under the Danish Presidency: directives on insurance intermediaries, pension funds, financial conglomerates, taxation on savings.
The commission will present proposals on: 1) the suitability of investment companies own funds for funding (a third round of consultation on the subject should begin in February; 2) the updating of the directive on investment services; 3) regular information; the amendment of the tenth, fourth, seventh and fourteenth directives on company law.