Europees Economisch en Sociaal Comité
The EESC supports the Commission's ambition for the European Union to lead the way in the global fight against money laundering and terrorism, in which all stakeholders should join forces. To feed into the political debate and decision making process and to make sure the needs of civil society are duly taken account of, the EESC is organising a public hearing on "The fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion".
The European Economic and Social Committee, the International Confederation of Popular Banks, the European Association of Co-operative Banks, the UNICO Banking Group, and the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises will organize the conference “Co-operative Banks and innovation in SME Financing” in Brussels on 9 November 2016.
The conference will bring to the forefront the raise of technology players in financial services. The focus will be on the SMEs' financing and on the interaction between these new players and the cooperative and popular banks.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is currently drawing up an own initiative opinion on "Promoting innovative and high growth firms". In order to gain further insights the EESC is organising a public hearing on 7 July 2016 at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, with the objective to contribute to map Europe's challenges and opportunities in this area and to create an environment supportive of creating innovative and high growth firms. The hearing will help formulating recommendations for policy makers on measures and actions needed to address the situation.
In December 2022, the Commission published a set of measures to further develop the EU's Capital Markets Union (CMU), which remains fragmented and underdeveloped in size. Part of the package – a new Listing Act – aims to reduce the administrative burden on companies of all sizes, particularly SMEs, so that they can better access funding by listing on European public markets. Studies show a sub-optimal situation with respect to SME initial public offerings (IPOs) in Europe. Also, the total number of listed companies on SME growth markets in Europe has barely increased since 2014, despite the fact that listed companies enjoyed clear benefits.
A safe, robust and competitive clearing ecosystem is an essential part of a well-functioning Capital Markets Union (CMU). But we are not there yet, and European financial markets are put at risk by overdependence on services provided by third-country Central Counterparties (CCPs). In December 2022, as part of a larger package of measures designed to further develop the CMU, the Commission proposed a new European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) to enhance the clearing capacity within the EU. The section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO) at the EESC has adopted an opinion on the Commission proposal.
Position Paper of the EESC Employers’ Group on the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact
Insurance Recovery and Resolution Directive-Presentation
Solvency II review package-Presentation
The EESC Employers' Group strives for a business environment that contributes to sustainable development, while keeping the EU's economy resilient and resourceful in an ever-changing world. Our Political Priorities beyond 2020 explain how to achieve this goal by fostering EU values, strengthening the EU's economic foundation, bringing the EU to the digital forefront and seizing opportunities provided by proactive climate action.
After the financial crisis, it became clear that the fragmented environment in the EU made it difficult to deal decisively and effectively with problems, particularly in the financial system. A common and cross-border approach became essential/were needed. The challenge was to make the financial institutions and markets more stable, competitive, safe and resilient. From that perspective, the plans for a fully-fledged banking union and a capital markets union were the right response.
