Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-02-02-Speech-3-229-000"
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"en.20110202.17.3-229-000"2
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".
Mr President, Minister, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union has had a new supervisory system for the financial sector since 1 January.
I fully agree with Parliament that we need strong authorities, which are independent of political or other interference. The chairpersons, executive directors, and voting members of the different boards must be completely independent and act solely in the interest of the Union. Parliament and the Council have enshrined this principle in the regulations creating the authorities, in particular in Articles 42, 46, 49 and 52, which Minister Győri referred to just now.
The Commission, as the guardian of EU law, will totally and fully assume its responsibilities to ensure that these Articles are rigorously complied with. I would add that the Commission will be present in the governing bodies of the authorities and that, in this regard, it will, of course, be vigilant so as to ensure that any decision that is taken in the interest of the Union.
As regards the composition of the board of supervisors, the Commission has already highlighted the legal necessity and the political importance of ensuring that these boards are composed of the heads of the competent national authorities. I have personally written to the authorities to clarify this point, where it needed clarifying. Some national authorities have since modified their representation. Others still have to do so. You can rest assured that the Commission will keep this point under very close scrutiny and will be inflexible.
The composition of the boards of the authorities must fully respect your wishes and those of the legislator in general, and I will personally see to it that the heads of the national authorities are actually present at least, and I repeat, at least twice a year in accordance with Article 40 of the regulations that created these authorities.
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, I endorse the intention of this Parliament to ensure that these authorities have the necessary financial and human resources to perform their duties in a credible fashion. The budgetary authority can count on the technical support of the Commission to ensure coherence between, on the one hand, the responsibilities assigned to these authorities and, on the other hand, naturally, the resources allocated to them to assume these responsibilities.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it is now essential that the procedures to appoint and confirm the chairpersons and executive directors of these authorities are completed successfully. These authorities need to get down to work. I can assure you that, every day, I have proof of the usefulness of these new authorities, since we currently consult them on an almost daily basis.
The tasks that these authorities have to assume in cooperation with the European Systemic Risk Board are of the utmost importance. We wanted them to be fully operational from 1 January. It is now the responsibility of each of us, in our own particular role, to allow them to perform their task swiftly and under good conditions. To achieve this, they need the full support of your institution.
I wish to reaffirm here that, for its part, the Commission will ensure that the intention of the legislator is fully respected and that these authorities work exclusively and solely in the interest of the European Union.
This system, combined with the fundamental reform of the regulation of the markets and financial operators will enhance financial stability in the Union and, I believe, will expand opportunities and lay solid foundations for the financial industry, which is extremely important in our countries.
I would like to begin by congratulating the European Parliament on the key role it has played in this process for several years. That we now have a more effective supervisory system for the financial sector and are drawing on the lessons of the crisis in this area, as in others, is largely due to the European Parliament.
We are now approaching the final stages of the creation of this new architecture of the three European Supervisory Authorities with the appointment of their chairpersons and executive directors in the next few days. Ladies and gentlemen, these appointment procedures were conducted with complete transparency and in full compliance with the regulations that created the authorities as well as other rules governing the appointment of the heads of the regulatory agencies of the Union.
Approximately 275 applications were received for the six posts I have just spoken about. They were all considered carefully and objectively. The roles allocated to the different stakeholders, to the European Parliament, to the board of supervisors, and to the Commission itself were scrupulously adhered to. In the future, we will continue to ensure that the process is transparent and properly planned so as to enable the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) of the European Parliament to play its very important role to the best possible effect.
This Parliament has made, and continues to make, big demands of these authorities, and I think it is right to do so. It is making demands that I can understand. Like Parliament, the Commission takes the view that the chairpersons and executive directors of these authorities must be chosen on the basis of merit, experience, independence, their commitment to Europe and their knowledge of issues linked to the supervision and regulation of financial markets. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the spirit in which the selection procedures under way have thus far been conducted on the basis of the applications we have received.
In addition, since Parliament and the Council decided, in Article 68 of the regulations creating these authorities, that the chairpersons and executive directors would be subject to the rules applicable to the staff of the institutions of the Union, the Commission has ensured that that is what is happening and that, in this area as in others, the regulations are being complied with.
Ladies and gentlemen, you have expressed concerns with regard to the salaries and the maximum age of the senior managers of these authorities. In this respect, we have explored all avenues in order to obtain maximum flexibility and this issue may, if necessary, be re-examined when the functioning of the authorities is reviewed, which is scheduled for the end of 2013.
I also endorse the intention of this Parliament to achieve the optimal gender balance at the head of these authorities. In the preselection procedure the Commission rigorously applied the principle of equal opportunities on the basis of the applications that were registered. I note in this regard that, in the latest process for the appointment of the executive directors, which is ongoing and has not yet been completed, two very able women are in contention for a post as executive director."@en1
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