Speaking at an Insurance Europe Conference, Barnier, the member of the European Commission responsible for internal market and services, said: "Although our proposal for the Omnibus II Directive was published at the very beginning of 2011, Parliament only took a position on the text at the beginning of spring 2012.
"This meant that the discussions between Parliament and the Council started quite late. Rapid progress has been made, though, and I am hopeful that a political agreement will be reached over the coming weeks. However, if nothing happens, there is a major risk that the Solvency II Directive will not be officially amended in time."
Barnier also discussed key proposals for consumer protection. "We want to better protect consumers of packaged retail investment products by introducing harmonised and transparent information requirements", he said. "These products are now so complex and obscure that too often consumers buy them when it is not in their interest to do so. In this context, I can assure you that the rules to be applied will take account of the specific nature of the insurance sector."
"Secondly, the Madoff fraud case in the US, in which some Europeans lost money, has exposed the loopholes in regulating UCITS. Our aim is to provide better protection for those investing in such products by introducing stricter liability rules for the loss of financial instruments kept in a depositary bank."
On the Insurance Mediation Directive, Barnier said: "We want to protect consumers of insurance products, especially by creating a 'level playing field' between the different providers of these products. "That is why the Insurance Mediation Directive must include within its scope direct selling of insurance. We think that each policy-holder should be given the same level of information and protection, wherever they purchase their insurance guarantee."
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