21 January deadline for amendments.

Jean-Paul Gauzes (FR/EPP) said that, since many things still had to be discussed, this was still not a perfect finalized document. The deadline to table amendments is 21 January 2010.

The scope remains the same. He proposes to take the thresholds out and, instead,  introduce a principle of proportionality.

Third countries - there will be a passport and a transitional period. As regards a private placement regime, it would be preferable to have harmonized rules. Since mutual recognition is not currently viable, private placement needs to be retained for the time being.

Finally, when it comes to the depository issue, the proposals are more stricter than for UCITs, but the reason is simple:  UCITS was here  before the crisis and, since we have been hit by the crisis and are learning the lessons from the crisis, the proposals for UCITS are as they are.

MEPs welcomed his report and thanked him for having been so open to comments.

Bullman (DE/S&D), on behalf of Goebbles, remarked that his groups had concerns regarding leverage and that they will be tabling an amendment.

Wolf Klinz (DE/ ALDE) wanted to speak on behalf of the companies affected by his directives. He said that some fund managers, as the self mangers fund, or special fund in Germany, do not represent any systemic risk and are already well supervised. They, therefore, do not need to be covered by the AIFMD. He believes that the proportionality in third country passports is a good a idea in theory,  but in practice it would mean having twenty-seven different schemes. A manager from the Cayman Islands would also have to provide evidence to twenty-seven authorities  and, in the end, this would harm the EU market.

Syed Kamal(UK/ECR) welcomed national private placement regimes, remarking that the directive should be consistent with the other directives. He disagreed with the third-country passport and said that funds outside the EU must continue to be allowed to be invested in. The Cayman Islands stand alone in that region.  They have got out of poverty not through agriculture but through financial services; we have to be sure that they will comply with the standards.

Ugo Bassi, on behalf of the Commission, welcomed the report. He said the Commission thinks it is going in the right direction in certain respects, even if there are some differences of opinion. The Commission believes that the discussion has been very productive and that the different parties will manage to find common ground. He welcomed support for the regulation that a few months ago was not shared by the industry. The third county issue was, he concluded, the most important aspect of the report. Leaving this to member states could be seen as a pragmatic solution but it would not come risk free and could provoke the fragmentation of the market. That is why the passport cannot be left at national level and should be a European issue.