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The report also outlines the initiatives taken by the Commission to assess the current state of integration of European financial markets, states that 36 of the 42 original measures have been finalised, and sets out recent successes in moving the FSAP towards completion.
A crucial adjunct to the FSAP has been the enhancement of arrangements for the effective supervision of financial institutions and the management of financial crises with a cross-border dimension. A key development in this regard is the emergence of structured arrangements to allow regulators and supervisors to organise their co-operation and mutual agreements.
On 5 November 2003, the Commission adopted a package of seven measures aiming to establish this new organisational architecture in all financial services sectors. The result will be that for each of the main financial sectors, there will be two committees:
This package is needed urgently if the FSAP is to be implemented and enforced effectively.
The Commission does not intend to come forward with a complete new programme of measures in the area of financial services in the short term, but is working on two broad policy goals, where over the coming years more work is needed:
The overall objective of this stock-taking is to arrive at a broad understanding of the extent of any remaining gaps in the regulatory, supervisory, administrative, and public policy framework.
The sectoral groups will focus primarily on the prioritisation of remaining impediments to cross-border business and their impact on the realisation of conditions for the smooth functioning of European financial markets.
To facilitate the involvement of, and input from, all interested parties, the Commission plans that the material emerging from the sectoral groups will also be subjected to public comment during the Summer of 2004.
Finally, the working papers and material from the sectoral groups could serve as a basis for a high level Forum in the Summer of 2004. This Forum would bring together the key decision-makers, experts and industry leaders. This event would have two purposes:
Press release
Progress report
Annex