Tag: Michel Barnier

Brussels agreed on stricter rules for credit rating agencies which will ultimately try to reduce the over-reliance on external ratings, requiring financial institutions to strengthen their own credit risk assessment. 

The European Union's powerful insurance watchdog EIOPA has blasted stagnant political talks to finalise new risk capital rules for the insurance sector, saying the delay was undermining EU credibility internationally.

Eurozone outsider Denmark may be compelled to join a proposed European banking union if it succeeds in boosting the credibility of euro area banks, said the head of the Danish central bank, Nils Bernstein.

Following concerns over financial irregularities and difficult online licencing, the European Commission has proposed a new directive requiring copyright collecting societies to increase their transparency, efficiency and management of revenues. EurActiv France reports.

Commissioner for the Single Market Michel Barnier is expected to bring forward changes to his market abuse directive and regulation within the coming weeks, the Financial Times said Monday.

The European Parliament is likely to ban bankers’ bonuses that exceed salaries, after the EU banking regulator found inconsistencies in the calculation between rewards and risk-taking.

The European Union could block non-EU companies from bidding for government contracts if European firms continue to struggle to win public tenders abroad, the European Commission said today (21 March), in a move that could sharply escalate trade tensions.

The European Commission will clarify tomorrow (30 November) the details of a plan that is aimed at profoundly changing the way audits are carried out in the 27-nation bloc, EurActiv has learned.

The European Commission will unveil plans on Tuesday (15 November) to further tighten controls on credit rating agencies, but will fall short of proposing an alternative European agency due to the lack of “credibility” such an institution would carry, according to the latest draft seen by EurActiv.

The "Big Four" global auditors could be broken up, leaving them susceptible to takeovers if radical European Union plans to boost competition go ahead, a UK auditing official said yesterday (27 September).

The European Commission is contemplating making Internet providers police their networks to tackle illegal downloads, a highly contested measure which is currently being scrutinised by the European Court of Justice.

The European Court of Justice has decided that the proposed establishment of an EU patent tribunal is incompatible with EU rules, meaning that this cornerstone of long-standing plans to create a unified European patent will have to be reviewed. 

European policymakers yesterday (22 September) reached the end of a long road to overhaul the supervision of the EU's banking sector, as MEPs gave their overwhelming backing to the creation of new financial watchdogs. EurActiv reports from Strasbourg. 

The European Parliament approved the world's toughest curbs on bank bonuses yesterday (7 July) as part of wider efforts to limit risk in a sector shored up by taxpayers. .

To prevent taxpayers from footing the bill for bailing out collapsing banks, the European Commission proposed today (26 May) that banks set up "preventive" funds, primarily financed from their liabilities and possibly their profits.

European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes today (19 May) unveiled her strategy to create a "virtuous and self-replicating digital economy". The five-year plan concentrates on infrastructure for high-speed Internet and fostering a borderless market for online music and film.  

After the European Parliament approved tighter controls on hedge funds and private equity firms yesterday (17 May), the EU's finance ministers today gave their blessing to a very different proposal, leaving the European Commission with the job of forging a "dynamic compromise" by June.

A top British official is leaving his post in the European Commission after London opposed his promotion to lead the EU executive's internal market portfolio, which is in charge of overseeing financial market regulation, EurActiv has learned.

Business groups and civil society relished the chance to grill the EU's new internal market commissioner, French politician Michel Barnier, at an event in Paris organised by EurActiv France. Barnier made clear that he was not a fan of self-regulation.

As the euro tumbles and speculators bet on the demise of government borrowing, and particularly Greek bonds, EU lawmakers believe Brussels now has more ammunition to crack down on markets. Tomorrow (23 February), EU regulators will announce new rules on short-selling, say sources close to the authorities.