The smoke clears and it appears that all the major economic commentators that I quote regularly have gone to Ascot or Silverstone. Mmm? The Telegraph has a report which is so similar to this from EU Observer that it would seem that they are both re-writes of a press handout. That makes it easier for the ‘second eleven’ left behind I suppose. The future of The City of London is in my view of critical importance.
I can’t find any mention of the subject at all in the FT! LATER - or in the Times!
I can only wait for the Sundays which I may not have time to report on.
I give up
Christina Speight
EU OBSERVER 19.6.09 at 19:06 CET
EU financial deal allows all sides to claim success
Andrew Willis
BRUSSELS – Following a general deal late on Thursday (18 June) night, EU leaders put the finer details to a political agreement on financial supervision on Friday, with all member states and the European Commission claiming the outcome as a success.
"Today was a major achievement because …there was a consensus on the need for a real European approach to financial supervision," said European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, who has won unanimous political backing to take up a second term as commission president.
"Honestly, some months ago, most would have said it would be impossible to reach this level of consensus," he added.
However, the meeting's formal conclusions highlight the compromise nature of the deal, with France and Germany pushing for a maximalist solution in recent weeks, while the UK raised a number of potentially deal-threatening concerns.
"The new system will not force the government in one member state to take fiscal decisions against its will," said Mr Barroso, a direct reference to a key UK objection.
[THAT doesn’t ‘gel’ with the ‘binding arbitration’ built in to the agrewement! -cs]
European Systemic Risk Board
In the final conclusions, leaders state their support for the setting up of a new European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), designed to monitor the EU's financial system for potential threats to stability and mandated to issue warnings where necessary and monitor their implementation.
In a change from European Commission recommendations, the chairman of the ESRB will however be elected by members of the general council of the European Central Bank, a body dealing with transitional issues of euro adoption such as the fixing of exchange rates.
Commission proposals had suggested the president of the ECB should automatically take up the new post, essentially cutting the non-euro using UK out of the job. As the ECB's general council consists of central bank governors from all 27 EU member states however, the UK could in theory take the job.
Speaking to journalists after Friday's meeting, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he felt ultimately the chair of the new risk body would be filled by someone from a Eurozone country.
It is the ECB's 22-man governing council, made up only of eurozone members, that is the bank's supreme decision-making body, with the setting euro area interests rates among its main tasks.
European System of Financial Supervisors
EU leaders also supported the setting up of a European System of Financial Supervisors, made up of three new pan-European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) in the areas of banking, insurance and securities.
Their role will be to upgrade the quality and consistency of national supervision and strengthen the oversight of cross-border firms with the aim of preventing a large banking failure in one country destabilising the financial system in other EU member states.
The plans also include the establishment of a single European rulebook, applicable to all financial institutions in the single market, in order to remove national differences that have caused compliance difficulties for cross-border companies.
The UK successfully defended its red line that decisions made by the three ESAs should not undermine national government control over where and when taxpayers' money is spent.
"The European Council stresses that decisions taken by the European Supervisory Authorities should not impinge in any way on the fiscal responsibilities of Member States," say the final conclusions.
Sarkozy 'happy' with Brown
Mr Sarkozy told journalist he had been "happy to work with [UK prime minister] Gordon Brown in securing a compromise, but added that he felt the final legislation "will go further …as is always the case."
The three new ESAs will get "binding and proportionate decision-making powers" to make sure national supervisors meet their obligations under the single rulebook and relevant EU law.
They will also gain the right to adjudicate in the case of a disagreement between the home and host state supervisors of a cross border firm, and will have supervisory powers over credit rating agencies.
The commission will now come forward with concrete legislative proposals this autumn
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