Mondo Visione Worldwide Financial Markets Intelligence

FTSE Mondo Visione Exchanges Index: 81,880.84 -61.09

Financial Services: 2005 Was A Year Of Achievement, Says European Commission Report

Date 10/01/2006

The European Commission has published its regular Progress Report on the Single Market in Financial Services, looking back on achievements since mid-2004. The report concludes that significant strides have been made in terms of building European financial integration. Not only were 98% of the actions under the Financial Services Action Plan completed by the deadline, but work also started on the crucial implementation of these measures. In addition, considerable progress has been made in the areas of corporate governance and company law, combating financial crime, accounting and auditing.

Internal Market and Services Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said: “Looking back at achievements in the area of financial services over the last 18 months, we can be confident that the initiatives that have been agreed will serve to reduce barriers within Europe, increase competitiveness in the financial sector, encourage financial services providers to improve their products, strengthen investor protection and benefit end-consumers. If Member States can ensure consistent implementation across the EU, these initiatives will strengthen the overall EU economy, improve corporate behaviour and build confidence. European capital markets are growing, giving us a positive environment in which to consolidate progress, as we set out in our recent White Paper."

Some of the key achievements included in the Progress Report are the approval of the Capital Requirements Directive; the adoption of the Reinsurance and 5th Motor Insurance Directives; the adoption of the Cross-Border Mergers Directive, the 8th Company Law Directive on Statutory Audit and the third Anti-Money Laundering Directive; and the decision to extend the Lamfalussy approach to banking, insurance and investment funds.

Although the Progress Report is primarily a look back at progress made since 2004, it also makes reference to ongoing programmes such as the Commission's proposal for a Directive on a New Legal Framework for Payments, and the Green Papers on investment funds and mortgages published in 2005. These will be the areas where work is expected to continue in the coming years, bringing the benefits of the single market closer to the EU's citizens. The Commission's overall strategy for financial services over the next five years was set out in the White Paper on Financial Services Policy (2005-2010), published on 05 December 2005 (IP/05/1529).
The White Paper contains a commitment to publish a detailed report covering progress and developments in the financial services on an annual basis. The next progress report can therefore be expected before the end of 2006. The full text of the current report is available at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/finances/progress-report/index_en.htm