Brussels, 19/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, the Council adopted its common position on "insurance mediation", in accordance with the political agreement concluded in November 2001 (see EUROPE of 28 November 2001). The directive will create a single registration system and will harmonise the minimum professional requirements needed to gain access to the retail insurance profession: appropriate knowledge and ability, good repute, possession of professional indemnity insurance, and financial capacity. The text will now be forwarded to the Parliament for second reading.
The European Commission welcomed the Council's common position, considering in a press release that it retains the main principles of the proposal presented by the Commission in September 2000 and takes into account the amendments made by the EP in first reading (Luis Berenguer Fuster report: see EUROPE of 19/20 November, p.16). The Council mainly takes on board a parliamentary amendment which specifies the information that a broker must provide to his clients by phone, along the lines of the common position defined for the directive concerning distance selling of financial services.