Sharon Bowles, the chair of the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, today welcomed the presentation of two new proposals for the regulation of derivatives markets and short-selling to the Committee by Commissioner Barnier. She insisted that collaboration between the new EU supervisory authorities will be crucial for the success of these plans.
‘The Commission and the Committee have a lot of work before us, and I welcome the fact that the Commissioner has come to us immediately to explain his proposals on the same day as their adoption in the College of Commissioners. During the negotiation of the supervision package the European Parliament placed great emphasis on the need for the European Supervisory Authorities to work together to take account of the impact of their decisions in other fields.
‘Both of these proposals will immediately put this to the test, above all in the linkage between the Securities Authority and the Banking Authority. An example of this is in the setting of capital requirements for central counterparties, the impact on banking capital of moves that may influence the liquidity of sovereign debt, and the sharing of information that may have systemic relevance.
‘It is also critical that the potential of central counterparties to concentrate risk is taken into account. In practical terms this means not only rules requiring the highest possible standards for their operation, but also taking into consideration the potential for a plurality of operators, and competition between them. However, this must be done in a way that does not allow standards of risk management to become a source of competition.’
‘The Committee will now begin the process of scrutinising the proposals and formulating a series of amendments, before negotiations begin to finalise an agreement with the European Commission and the Council of the EU.’
