EU Regulatory Framework for Financial Services (Communication)

Key points

The EESC:

• welcomes the call for evidence as an innovative, informative and useful instrument for assessing the impact of legislative initiatives at EU level and hopes that it will become common practice in the future.
• agrees that the fundamental principles of the recent financial reforms cannot be disputed and that the new rules have enhanced the stability and resilience of the financial system.
• underlines the importance of the EU Regulatory Framework for Financial Services in speeding up the completion of a Capital Markets Union (CMU).

• welcomes the approach of putting the reform in the context of the wider aim of better balancing financial stability and growth objectives.

• urges the Member States not to impose unnecessary burdens and restrictions when transposing EU rules.

• agrees that banks need to be the focus of special attention since they provide important services of general interest to the general public and are the main source of funding for SMEs.

• calls on European decision makers to accelerate the structural reform of the EU banking sector including by resolving the stalemate with the co-legislators of the Commission's legislative proposal for a regulation on structural measures improving the resilience of EU credit institutions. 
• reminds that legislation is not always the most appropriate policy response and invites the Commission to opt for non-legislative and market-based solutions whenever possible.