The European Parliament today endorsed (1) the three candidates to chair the new EU financial supervision authorities (2) after resolutions on their rejection were not adopted. The Greens expressed concern with the selection process, as well as with the suitability of one of the candidates. Speaking after the vote, Green MEP Sven Giegold, who was the EP draftsman for the European Securities and Markets Authority, said:

"This whole selection procedure was an unsatisfactory mess and marks an inauspicious start for the new financial supervision authorities. The Commission and Council share the responsibility for this situation and it is important that lessons are learned for the next round of appointments.

"These new authorities must provide rigorous and effective oversight of the financial sector to avoid the mistakes of the past and it is regrettable that the status of candidates was not higher. The Greens were particularly unhappy with the candidate for the chairmanship of the new insurance and pension authority, Gabriel Bernardino. There are real concerns that Mr Bernardino is not committed to providing meaningful European supervision and will be a lap dog of the national authorities. He also appears to be downplaying the potential risks the insurance sector poses to financial stability. For this reason, the Greens voted to reject his candidature.

"It is crucial that the new authorities and their chairs carry out their functions in the interest of Europe's citizens. To this end, the Greens pushed for greater transparency as regards the relations between industry representatives and the authorities and their chairs, and we are happy that all three candidates have committed in writing to ensuring this. Shadowy lobbying relations will undermine the credibility and effectiveness of these authorities and it is important that they carry out their work in the utmost transparency.

"We must now move forward and ensure that these authorities can effectively carry out their crucial oversight role over EU financial markets."

(1) MEPs voted on proposed resolutions on the rejection of each of the candidates. None of the resolutions was adopted, meaning all three candidates were endorsed by the parliament.

(2) The candidates are:

- Steven Maijoor (NL) for the Securities and Markets Authority

- Gabriel Bernardino (PT) for the Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority

- Andrea Enria (IT) for the European Banking Authority
 
Richard More O'Ferrall,
Press and media officer,
Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament
Mobile: +32-477-443842 - Ph. +32-22841669 (Brussels); +33-388174042
www.greens-efa.eu - http://twitter.com/GreensEP