Calling new rules on 'alternative funds' including hedge funds and private equity a "missed opportunity", German GUE/NGL MEP Jürgen Klute said today's EP vote on the AIFM directive fell far short of what was required to effectively regulate hedge funds.

"Council has missed an opportunity here. It bowed down to the intense lobbying of the finance industry and the UK government, undermining efforts to put in place effective regulation at European level" he said after the vote.

Despite the systemic risks posed and the destructive role played by speculative funds in the current crisis, the insertion of major loopholes has scuppered the initial objectives of the AIFM legislation.

"Funds that do not comply with the new rules can still be "passively marketed" within the EU despite the fact that Commissioner Barnier has called for passive marketing to be urgently regulated. That's like banning someone from selling rotten eggs at the market but letting him go on advertising them" Klute said, regretting the watering down of much of the initial compromise, especially a section on information rights for workers.

"I hope that we can perhaps make improvements on this in the future" he concluded.

GUE/NGL PRESS CONTACTS:
David Lundy + 32 485 50 58 12
Gianfranco Battistini + 32 475 64 66 28
Gay Kavanagh +32 473 84 23 20
www.guengl.eu
Gauche Unitaire Européenne/Nordic Green Left
European Parliamentary Group