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16 July 2012

Risk.net: Breakdown of Omnibus II negotiations piles pressure on Solvency II timetable


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Negotiations are to resume in September, but there are fears that the deadlock will continue. The Solvency II implementation timetable came under further pressure after European policy-makers failed to agree a final version of the Omnibus II Directive at the end of last week.


Continued disagreement between Member States over the package of measures to support long-term guarantee products prevented an agreement being reached in the trilogue negotiations between the European Parliament, Council and the European Commission.

Negotiations will now resume in September, following the summer recess, as the parties attempt to agree a final text for the parliament to vote on in full plenary session in October.

The breakdown of negotiations on Omnibus II has fuelled fears that Solvency II's implementation on January 1, 2014 could be threatened.

"[It] is disappointing – January 1, 2014 has now become effectively impossible. What is more worrying is that I cannot see much better prospect of success in September unless someone gets a grip", says Seamus Creedon, a non-executive director at a number of insurers, including MetLife and RGA Reinsurance UK.

Olav Jones, deputy director general of Insurance Europe in Brussels, says the implementation timetable could still be maintained if an agreement is reached soon after MEPs return from the summer recess.

One outcome may be a soft launch of the Solvency II regime in 2014, but with many of its requirements delayed through the use of transitional measures, suggests Rick Lester, Solvency II lead partner at Deloitte in London.

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