26 February 2018

ESAs review: Insurance Europe supports EIOPA as strong stand-alone authority

Insurance Europe highlighted, however, that EIOPA’s current governance structure does not provide adequate checks and balances, and that the Commission’s proposed changes would exacerbate, rather than address, these issues.

To rectify this, Insurance Europe calls for amendments and clarifications to proposals for a new Executive Board for EIOPA, and how that board would interact with EIOPA’s Board of Supervisors.

In terms of EIOPA’s mandate, Insurance Europe suggests that EIOPA’s obligation to ensure the stability and effectiveness of the financial system should be expanded to require it to also act in the best interest of the overall European public good.

This could — together with other governance improvements — help ensure that EIOPA considers the broader economic context of its proposed advice and always takes a proportional and balanced approach to its supervisory, as well as regulatory, activities. This would be an effective tool to avoid unintended consequences.

In addition, Insurance Europe proposes that the European Parliament and the European Commission should play a greater role in ensuring oversight and transparency at EIOPA, including in its budget setting and approval process. These checks and balances will become even more vital, given the Commission’s proposals to provide EIOPA with increased powers.

On powers, Insurance Europe pointed out that, clarifications may be needed to ensure information is shared between national competent authorities and EIOPA in a timely manner. Otherwise, EIOPA already has sufficient powers and some of the proposed changes would risk undermining the important principle of subsidiarity. There was also insufficient justification for the proposed changes to funding. 

Position paper

Executive summary

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