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EU Ministers Fail to Agree Legal Plan on Securities
European Union (EU) finance ministers at their monthly meeting on Monday failed to reach an agreement over a plan to speed up financial services lawmaking but remained committed to its principles.
The lawmaking proposal on securities received "a very warm welcome from" the 15 EU finance ministers, said the European Commission, the EU's executive body.
"Everyone agreed with the broad principles but unfortunately there was no agreement on the small print," EU financial services Commissioner Frits Bolkestein told a news conference following the meeting.
A group of so-called "wise men" headed by former Belgian central banker Alexandre Lamfalussy was set up last year to look at improving securities market regulation in the EU in response to growing consolidation among stock exchanges.
Its final report focused on how the EU could speed up lawmaking processes to meet a self-set 2005 deadline for completing an integrated capital market in the 15-nation bloc.
"It is important that we agree this before Stockholm," Bolkestein said, referring to the summit of European leaders in the Swedish capital later this month.
Luxembourg Prime Minister and Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said that senior EU treasury and central bank officials would meet to discuss the proposals again next Monday and, if they failed to resolve differences, ministers would meet again on the sidelines of the Stockholm summit on March 23 and 24.
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