26 September 2016

ESMA's Maijoor statement to the Economic & Monetary Affairs Committee hearing

Steven Maijoor, ESMA Chair, attended the annual hearing of the Chairs of the European Supervisory Authorities - European Banking Authority, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority and the European Securities and Markets Authority - by the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee at the European Parliament.

“The last 12 months have been one of the most intense periods for ESMA to date, which I will illustrate for ESMA’s four core activities: completing the single rulebook, promoting supervisory convergence, risk assessment and supervision.

To successfully achieve the single rulebook, it is important that we keep pace with the finalisation of the technical standards. I think we can all agree that well-drafted and timely endorsed technical standards, taking into account the deadlines set out in our founding Regulation, will help all involved to prepare for their implementation.

ESMA has contributed significantly towards making the EU financial market open to institutions from non-EU jurisdictions. The extensive advice we gave to the Commission on the 3rd country passport under the AIFMD, the successful recognition process of 3rd country CCPs, to name but two, have proven ESMA’s technical expertise and capabilities in the area of non-EU market access.

Looking to the future, there is one key issue I would like to invite you to reflect upon: the CMU. The CMU is essential for the continued success of the European economy and for this reason it should be progressed without pause. As the CMU has been designed as an EU-wide project, my view is that it should make no difference to its importance whether 27 or 28 EU Member States will participate in it. Therefore, ESMA, as a well-established EU regulator, will remain committed to supporting the objectives of the CMU within its mandate and powers, paying particular attention to consumer protection, financial stability and orderly markets.

Full speech

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