Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-12-14-Speech-2-512"
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"en.20101214.37.2-512"2
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"Mr President, good afternoon to you all. You spoke very well, Mr Gauzès, as did Mr Chastel just now, on behalf of Mr Reynders, about the supervision and regulation of the large hedge fund and private equity sector, today, and about this second stage of credit rating agency regulation, tomorrow, which is clearly being undertaken with and thanks to you, ladies and gentlemen, and thanks to the Council and to the initial work of the Commission. On the subject of regulation, Europe is making concrete and effective progress, and it is learning the lessons of the crisis, as all taxpayers, who are also European citizens, are demanding.
Mr President, I do not want to speak at great length as I did just now, but I would perhaps like to expand on what Mr Chastel said and mention the next stage, since I myself said that we must go further to ensure the proper regulation of rating agencies, while noting that the agencies are not creating the problem and the turbulence on the financial markets. The thermometer does not cause the fever, but it still needs to work properly, which was not the case in the past, and that is what we want to remedy, so to speak, with these successive regulations.
The Commission is already considering the next stage: a public consultation was launched on 5 November 2010 to broaden this debate and to collect the points of view of all the parties concerned, and, as you know, there is nothing artificial about the debates regarding all these regulations. Ladies and gentlemen, I truly set great store by listening to every contribution, criticism or idea made in the context of these consultations.
We shall now consider, first, the consequences of the issuer-pays model, which is widespread among rating agencies; second, the dependence of the banks and other institutional investors on credit ratings; third, the rating of sovereign debt – which is not a straightforward matter; fourth, increasing transparency in order to manage conflicts of interest better; and fifth, creating more competition and diversity in this rating agencies market, which is currently concentrated in too few hands.
This consultation is open until next January and, on the basis of all the responses that we receive, and of Mr Klinz’s own-initiative report, we will take a decision at some point in 2011, but not too late, regarding the measures that we want to implement in order to complete, through a third stage, these two regulations on rating agencies, which are now almost implemented.
Ladies and gentlemen, the agreement on the supervision of credit rating agencies is an important step, and I, too, would like to thank you, Mr Gauzès, and, of course, those working alongside you, the Committee Chair, Mrs Bowles, as well as the shadow rapporteurs, Mr Klinz, Mr Giegold, Mr Pittella and Mr Fox. In a few days’ time, this Presidency will come to an end, having had much success and having made a lot of progress, and I want to give my sincere thanks to Mr Reynders and to his whole team for the good relations we have maintained throughout the last six months.
This is a good agreement, even though I have to say that it would have been excellent if, in the final compromise, we had taken up the rules that the Commission initially proposed for reinforced transparency regarding structured financial instruments. However, as was indicated in the recitals of the regulation, we will come back to this subject, if you wish, during the next revision of the regulation in 2011.
As Mr Chastel said just now, from July 2011, this amendment to the 2009 regulation will give ESMA, the new Securities and Markets Authority, the direct power to supervise credit rating agencies at European level. Ladies and gentlemen, the importance of this decision that you are taking today really must be understood. This is the first time that ESMA, this new European authority, will have the power to directly supervise financial institutions operating across Europe.
This amendment completes the new European supervision framework. It strengthens ESMA’s powers considerably, as you explained very well, Mr Gauzès, and as Mr Giegold, who is here, was also anxious to point out during the debate on supervision. This is therefore a very important subject for you, and it is also a very important subject for us.
ESMA will become the institution responsible for registering rating agencies and supervising them throughout the Union, and it will exercise strict control. The legislation will grant it all the supervisory powers deemed necessary to force rating agencies to comply with the terms of the regulation.
ESMA will be able to exercise supervision – I am thinking here of requests for information and the power to carry out spot checks – and if it notices that a credit rating agency is committing a violation, it will have to take the measures necessary to force the agency to put a stop to that violation. ESMA will also have the power, strictly regulated by clear rules, to impose fines and penalties on rating agencies which do not respect the regulation. Clearly, this regulation also guarantees the rights of defence of rating agencies, in particular, the right to a hearing, access to documents and other procedural guarantees. Finally, when exercising a supervisory power, ESMA will respect the rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the other principles and provisions of European Union law, including the proportionality principle.
The new regulation on rating agencies will also ensure a single point of contact for all rating agencies, a regulatory framework which is harmonised across the European Union, with equal treatment, and a more consistent application of the rules for agencies throughout the European Union.
I therefore think that this represents a considerable gain in efficiency, transparency and security within the general architecture that we are constructing week by week in order to achieve intelligent supervision and effective regulation."@en1
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