Brussels, 07/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - In the conclusions to be adopted on Tuesday 8 May during the Ecofin Council, European finance ministers and the Commission will agree that “the best approach at this current stage is to introduce targeted amendments to the directives on undertakings for collective investments (UCITS)”. They are calling for the amendments announced to be submitted so that the Council and European Parliament can examine them as soon as possible.
The Ecofin Council is eagerly awaiting the Commission's assessment for “justification of an action” by the European Union in the area of private investments, which is expected for autumn 2007; the Commission's report is expected out in the middle of 2008 on “possible single market solutions for the non-harmonised retail sector funds” such as “hedge funds” or open real estate funds. He noted that in this connection, the Commission is also proceeding to an overall examination of “the cross border distribution of different kinds of non-harmonised funds”.
Ministers are calling on the Commission to examine the “coherency of Community legislation on different kinds of retail investment products” such as “unit-linked life assurance, investment funds, some kinds of bonds and structured certificates…to guarantee a coherent approach on investment protection and prevent misselling”. They support the work of the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) on UCITS and non-coordinated investment funds. They also underline the importance of fully using “the monitoring tools” mentioned in the Financial Services Committee on financial monitoring.
The Commission presented a white paper in November 2006 on investment funds in which it called for a targeted evolution in Directive 85/611/EC amended in 2001. (mb)