Policy Paper 87

Strengthening EU presence in global financial regulation reform

Filippa Chatzistavrou, Research Fellow, ELIAMEP, Dimitrios Katsikas, Research Fellow, ELIAMEP, Yiannis Tirkides, Senior Research Fellow, Center for European and International Affairs (CCEIA)
? The institutionalisation and legalisation of the European financial governance will undoubtedly enhance the implementation of agreed regulations and improve supervision; moreover, it has the potential to strengthen the EU’s voice by promoting a more unified and coherent external representation of its positions. However, this potential may not be realised unless such changes take into account the institutional characteristics of global financial governance, composed of a variety of organisations that often transcend the traditional public-private dichotomy. The EU should build on its experience in international accounting harmonisation by turning its ad hoc governance initiative with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) into a full-blown strategy in all areas of financial regulation. The generalisation of this strategy involves extending the recently established European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) as institutional platforms to coordinate and represent European views in global financial regulatory negotiations, adapting them to newly added governance structures – namely the European banking supervisory authority – as well as complementing them with appropriate governance structures where this is needed.

This Policy
Paper is a contribution of Yiannis Tirkides (CCEIA), Filippa Chatzistavrou and Dimitris Katsikas (ELIAMEP), to the project Think Global – Act European (TGAE). Thinking strategically
about the EU’s external action
directed by Notre Europe –
Jacques Delors Institute
(report available in March 2013, dir. Elvire Fabry, Senior Research Fellow, Notre
Europe – Jacques Delors Institute).

The institutionalisation and legalisation of the
European financial governance will undoubtedly enhance the implementation of
agreed regulations and improve supervision; moreover, it has the potential to
strengthen the EU’s voice by promoting a more unified and coherent external
representation of its positions. However, this potential may not be realised
unless such changes take into account the institutional characteristics of
global financial governance, composed of a variety of organisations that often
transcend the traditional public-private dichotomy. The EU should build on its
experience in international accounting harmonisation by turning its ad hoc
governance initiative with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
into a full-blown strategy in all areas of financial regulation. The generalisation
of this strategy involves extending the recently established European
Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) as institutional platforms to coordinate and
represent European views in global financial regulatory negotiations, adapting
them to newly added governance structures – namely the European banking supervisory
authority – as well as complementing them with appropriate governance
structures where this is needed.

Before the publication of the final report presenting the key recommendations of the 16 think tanks involved in the project, 5 series of policy papers address the following key challenges: migration, EU neighbourhood, CSDP, strategic resources and economic policy .

This Policy Paper is part of the series entitled “Promoting EU economic interests abroad” which
includes contributions by John Springford (Centre for European
Reform), Richard Youngs (FRIDE), Agatha Kratz and Jonas Parello-Plesner (ECFR) , Daniela Schwarzer (SWP), Federico Steinberg (Elcano), Diego Valiante (CEPS), Pawel Swieboda (demosEuropa).

Go to the other contributions of the economic policy series >>

This project is led with the contribution of