- FESE sees timely completion of FSAP and co-ordinated action on Corporate Governance as "vital" for global competitiveness of European financial markets
- Exchanges express concern about level of detail in European legislation - "The spirit of Lamfalussy is being betrayed"
- Clearing and Settlement: FESE works with EACH and ECSDA to evaluate and implement Giovannini and G30 recommendations
- FESE resumes dialogue with US SEC - Steil paper seen as "excellent roadmap" for further discussion. FESE Members plan to intensify cooperation with the Stock Exchanges of Toronto and Sydney.
- The senior representatives of Europe's Exchanges and Clearing Houses discussed the progress of the European Union's Financial Services Action Plan (Investment Services Directive, Prospectuses, Transparency etc.). In view of the re-election and re-nomination, respectively, of the European Parliament and the Commission in 2004. FESE urges the legislators to hold to their ambitious timetable in order to achieve FSAP completion by the end of 2005, as planned.
FESE expressly welcomes the Corporate Governance Action Plan (CGAP) as recently presented by the European Commission. "This action plan is vital for Europe's capital markets in their fight for global competitiveness, as is the timely completion and implementation of the FSAP", said FESE President Möller. He added that the concepts laid out by the Commission in the CGAP are partially already today the benchmark for Europe's leading markets and their top-segment admission rules. Governance and shareholder empowerment measures are an important element of the quality branding of successful markets, often well in advance of national legislation.
- At the same time, Europe's Exchange and Clearing House leaders express serious concern about the level of detail contained in Draft Directives. "In a vicious circle, these provisions are then being made even more and more detailed in the reiterative process between Parliament and Council," says Paul Arlman, FESE's Secretary General. "No one dares to let loose - and we end up with a rigid and inflexible snapshot legislation that is already outdated when coming into force and that cannot be changed as swiftly as necessary. The spirit of the Lamfalussy Report is being betrayed," he added. Similar concerns were raised about the level of detail in CESR's overall commendable work on level II (implementation measures) on financial markets directives.
- Despite the highly competitive character of the issue, FESE Members discussed recent developments in the areas of clearing and settlement. Both, the Giovannini Report and the recommendations of the G30 Group, were welcomed as addressing the real issues and pointing towards solutions. Europe's Exchange leaders see particular value in the work of the Giovannini Group where that Group sets out step-by-step timelines for the removal of barriers in cross-border clearing and settlement and where it identifies those that are chiefly called to work on theses barriers. (4) FESE Members considered the next steps in the discussion with the US SEC on direct access for US investors to European Exchanges and their equity-related products, following a recent letter by FESE President Möller to SEC Chairman Donaldson. "The recent paper by Benn Steil provides an excellent roadmap for the way forward," said FESE President Möller. The Federation had organised recently a high-level symposium in Brussels where Commission representatives, MEPs, and the European Round Table of Industrialists (see http://www.ert.be/) had the opportunity to discuss the issues with Dr. Steil.
FESE Members are happy to continue and intensify the cooperation with TSX (Toronto) and ASX (Sydney) with a view to reaching agreements based on mutual recognition of markets and regulatory approaches.
