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Charlie McCreevy |
This week in London at two events, a busy Charlie McCreevy, European Commissioner for Internal Markets and Services, delivered two extremely strong messages to regulators and firms regarding MiFID and the European Single Market: there will be no delay to the implementation of MiFID; and that firms should strenuously oppose attempts by national regulators to "goldplate", to add requirements over and above the published European legislations.
At the Financial Times' awards dinner for bankers, McCreevy stated unequivocally that problems with transposing implementing measures into national law, possibly due to goldplating, would not be an acceptable reason for attempting to delay the implementation of MiFID. McCreevy said "I am very concerned that some Member States have stated publicly that they will not be able to transpose MiFID on time. This is very disappointing – particularly since we have repeatedly advised them to begin the transposition process early. Let me be perfectly clear about this. The Commission will launch immediate infringement procedures against any Member State which fails to transpose on time. There will be no exceptions."
EU Member States who fail to transpose on time could face legal action in their own courts from firms whose competitiveness is impacted by their having acquired MiFID passporting rights, the right to trade in another EU country but remain under one’s home supervision, but being unable to use them through legal delays by either the host or home country. McCreevy called this a high risk strategy.
Last night, at the British Bankers' Association’s Annual Supervision Conference, McCreevy delivered a thunderous broadside against regulators who delayed, avoided or goldplated EC regulations. He called for firms to protest when laws were not transposed into national legislation, when regulators were inconsistent, or when governments applied extra redundant or excessive requirements. He said "Make your views known. To the Commission. To DG Internal Market. To DG Competition. Give them the evidence of anti-competitive monkey business as soon as it occurs. The Commission is on your side here."
McCreevy told the audience that the European Commission would fight national supervisory authorities that were abusing the EU legal framework and described proposals that will prevent intervention in areas such as market consolidation. He urged firms to protest against any anti-competitive behaviour and to inform the Commission.
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