3&4 December 2007 Brussels European Parliament “Achieving the Integration of European Financial Markets in a Global Context” The 2007 Conference Report
The 2007 EUROFI Conference ACHIEVING THE INTEGRATION OF EUROPEAN FINANCIAL MARKETS
IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
Monday 3 and Tuesday 4 December 2007 at the European Parliament in Brussels
Local political representatives or regulators: what actions are required at the political and regulatory level for financial services?
Can the EU legislative framework cope with cross-border developments, worldwide competition and market strains?
In what way does integration provide benefits to consumers? Does the FSAP framework help market players develop cross-border relations? How can an appropriate balance between financial stability and optimal pricing for financial services be achieved? What are the benefits and costs of the EU legislation framework for cross-border mergers seen by representative players? What EU priorities stem from the financial globalised crisis?
EU Regulation & Supervision: Isn’t maintaining the status quo the worst option?
Regulation: What can be improved? How to achieve more homogeneity in national transposition? How to reinforce levels 1-2-3 of the Lamfalussy Process and adopt a European mandate for national regulators? How to speed up the EU regulatory process? How should regulation be modified, taking into account, lessons from the present crisis (ex. off balance sheet back up lines for SPVs…)
Supervision: What are the impacts of the current financial crisis in EU supervisory arrangements? How can the supervisory arrangements be improved especially for multinational groups? What are the crucial needs for host supervisors? What are the key principles required to building a consensus such as information sharing, common binding agreements on roles, tools and practices in supervising cross-border financial groups, arbitrage bodies, etc?
What focus for EU securities infrastructure in today’s globalised financial markets?
Do European infrastructures still make sense in a global context and what is themeaning of a “European infrastructure”? Is reducing the fragmentation of EU infrastructures still a priority? If so how could it be achieved? What measures are required to ensure that MiFID and the code of conduct lead to effective competition? What is the role for political decision-makers to speed up the lifting of the Giovannini Barriers? How to correctly take into account the requirements of the derivatives market? Which particular needs of EUusers should be taken into account in global infrastructures? How can they be achieved?
What are the key challenges and trends for Europe’s retail payment systems? What are the economic threats on payment schemes sustainability? What are the current developments of retail payment infrastructures (demutualisation, consolidation, scheme competition enhancement…) and their consequences for the EU? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the payment schemes governance narrangements (Visa, Mastercard, EPC, EMV Co…) for EU users? Is the EPC guidance (SEPA, card framework, separation between scheme management and scheme processing…) sufficient to foster competition and obtain lower prices ?
The outlook for Insurance Mutuals in the fast-changing EU marketplace What are the main domestic and cross-border development opportunities for insurance
mutuals in the EU and what potential benefits are expected for their members? What regulatory, market challenges and issues do insurance mutuals experience at present?
How should insurance mutuals evolve to meet the challenges of Solvency II? What egal tools could be needed to respond to these challenges while ensuring a level playing field between the different market players? What are the pros and cons of a European statute, or of other legal tools?
The outlook for Insurance Mutuals in the fast-changing EU marketplace What are the main domestic and cross-border development opportunities for insurance
mutuals in the EU and what potential benefits are expected for their members? What regulatory, market challenges and issues do insurance mutuals experience at present?
How should insurance mutuals evolve to meet the challenges of Solvency II? What egal tools could be needed to respond to these challenges while ensuring a level playing field between the different market players? What are the pros and cons of a European statute, or of other legal tools?
