BERLIN, Feb 17 (Reuters) – France and Germany have urged the European Commission to present an ambitious “financial services simplification package” to make European Union (EU) rules easier to navigate and less burdensome for businesses, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
In the letter sent on Friday to EU Commissioner for Financial Services Maria Luis Albuquerque, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil and his French counterpart Roland Lescure identify several areas where it is possible to simplify EU legislation on financial services, while at the same time ensuring financial stability.
“We need a dedicated and comprehensive financial services simplification package at European level that reviews the entire European financial market regulatory framework, ensuring coherence and effective implementation,” the letter states.
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Europe’s relatively weak economic growth rates have long worried public officials and businesses, while efforts to integrate the region’s disparate banking sectors have run into difficulties.
Klingbeil said on Monday, before a meeting of finance ministers in Brussels, that the EU is at a turning point where countries should not hide behind national interests, but accelerate progress to strengthen the EU’s influence and sovereignty.
“This is a very European moment,” Klingbeil said.
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German and French ministers argue that selective adjustments to future legislation are not enough and that the EU must also simplify rules already in place, with a view to strengthening the single market for financial services and improving the global competitiveness of European institutions.
In the US, President Donald Trump is pushing regulators to cut red tape — potentially giving Wall Street giants even more power — and UK regulators are also relaxing some rules.
Among the specific areas flagged, the letter highlights simplifying reporting so that a financial market transaction only needs to be reported once, based on established market practices rather than additional regulation, revoking unused delegated powers and simplifying rules for reporting cyber incidents.
