Today, S&D Euro MPs in the economic and monetary affairs committee backed proposals to strengthen the European supervision of central counterparty clearing houses on the financial markets.
 
S&D Group spokesperson on economic and monetary affairs, Pervenche Berès MEP, said:

”The European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) was setup to reduce operational, counterparty and systemic risks, and therefore avoid collapses of the financial system.

“The texts adopted today by the European Parliament's committee on economic and monetary affairs will help Europe to live up to its promises, not only by designing the framework for third country Central Counterparty Clearing Houses (CCPs) to fit the post-Brexit era, but also by upgrading its own clearing standards regarding the supervision of systemic risk that could accumulate.
 
“The EU legislators now need to follow through and deliver a comprehensive package on the review of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) before the 29th of March, 2019.”
 
S&D Group negotiator on the Central Counterparty Clearing Houses rules, and chair of the economic and monetary affairs committee, Roberto Gualtieri MEP, said:

“We have secured an important text that would serve as a blueprint for the enhanced EU equivalence regime in financial services. Indeed, in the light of Brexit, the deepening of the Capital Markets, and the rapid expansion in the scale and scope of central clearing in the EU, we reinforced the toolkit in order to safeguard financial stability and the level playing field, and to strengthen investor and consumer protection in the field of clearing services.
 
“We supported the structure of the European Commission's proposal and the overall EU's equivalence regime, as an integral part of the EU regulatory framework for financial services.”
 
S&D Group negotiator on the revision of the clearing rules in the derivative market, Jakob von Weizsäcker MEP, stressed:

“Today, the economic and monetary affairs committee improved the EMIR Refit proposal in a number of ways. It has been our priority to safeguard financial stability and to expand central clearing, while allowing for targeted simplification.

“The report adopted today calls for Pension Scheme Arrangements to become subject to the central clearing obligation significantly sooner than envisaged by the original Commission proposal. This measure stands to improve financial stability and the safety of pensions, while giving pension funds enough time to prepare for central clearing.”