28 July 2009

ACCA: The New European Parliament. What Can You Achieve in Your First 100 Days?

The priority: to ensure that existing legislative and regulatory measures are implemented and enforced effectively across the EU, rather than reactively rushing through new financial legislation.

This paper sets out ACCA’s position on key areas and suggests priorities for decision makers to focus on as immediate actions.

 

Amongst the briefing’s key points are:

 

1. The global financial crisis has exposed weaknesses in the current regulatory system highlighting the need for better co-ordination between national regulators. It is important that new regulation should be flexible and principles-based allowing for integrity without compromising innovation.

2. SMEs are of enormous importance to economic recovery and play a sizeable role in creating jobs and growth. The European Parliament should ensure that all legislation passes the ‘think small first’ test.
3. A fully integrated single market remains as yet elusive, with some member states failing to fully implement single market rules. The opportunities that a level playing field could offer have yet to be realised.
4. The EU faces its biggest test yet with economic indicators declining across Europe; the pursuit of the Lisbon Agenda is now of greater importance than ever. Accountants have a key role to play in ensuring that the financial disciplines required to achieve these goals are met.       

 

The European Parliament has the opportunity to make a real difference by taking steps to resolve the crisis and ensuring that the legislation and other structures that come out of it are robust and benefit, as opposed to harm, business. To ensure that this is the case, SME policy should be at the very heart of the EU’s economic recovery plan.

The next stage in the recovery from global recession must be a strengthened European growth strategy following on from the Lisbon Agenda with sharper, more realistic goals.

ACCA believes that if the above recommendations are adopted, the EU will be able to pull together to confront the economic challenges and build an effective European recovery. 

 

 

Full report

 

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