'Internationally, regulatory arbitrage is hard to eliminate, but in the EU we can remove supervisory arbitrage. Enhancing effective day-to-day supervision should be the focus of our work', Sharon Bowles, ECON chair, said.
A delegation of ten Members of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) of the European Parliament visited Spain to engage in discussions with the Spanish parliament and government on questions linked to macro-economic policy and financial supervision in the light of the current economic crisis.
The delegation had in-depth discussions with Congress and Senate Committees on Economy and Finance regarding exit strategies and the future financial supervisory architecture. Further discussions were held with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance (Mrs Elena Salgado), the Governor of the Central Bank of Spain (Mr Miguel Fernández Ordóñez) and supervisors for insurance, pensions and securities as well as the competition authority. The ECON delegation also met with social partners and members of the business community.
ECON Members and their Spanish counterparts agreed that there was light at the end of the tunnel regarding the financial crisis generally. However, structural reforms remain necessary in Spain to cope with the fundamental issues in the housing and in the banking sector, including the saving banks. All counterparts confirmed that a stronger financial supervision with a clear European dimension is needed. Sharon Bowles said: “Internationally, regulatory arbitrage is hard to eliminate, but in the EU we can remove supervisory arbitrage. Enhancing effective day-to-day supervision should be the focus of our work.” The ECON Delegation insisted that the new European supervisory authorities should have real added value and thus have binding intervening powers.
To continue the dialogue the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee will invite its counterpart from the Spanish Congress and Senate to a meeting in Brussels on 16 and 17 March 2010. The topic of the meeting is: “The Post-crisis Strategy for Growth and Jobs and Modernisation of the Global Financial Architecture”.
Furthermore, on 26 January 2010, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance will present the Spanish Presidency programme at the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee.
© European Parliament
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