Commissioner Barnier at the Treasury Select Committee House of Commons
14 December 2010
Barnier stressed that a strong City of London is good not only for the UK, but for the rest of Europe too. Moreover he wants a strong, vibrant and sustainable financial sector in the UK.
He also presented the following points:
· Financial markets do not stop at the UK borders. Financial markets operate on a global scale, which means that the regulatory and supervisory approach also need to be at European and global level.
· The EU agenda is essentially the G20 agenda.
· The crisis hit Europe and the UK very hard but also the US and Japan. We are not out of the woods yet. Its effects are there for all to see – jobs, growth. and the tough spending cuts, not to speak of the political consequences in many countries. This must not happen again. There must be no return to business as usual. Otherwise, the liberal free market principles which we all believe in could be seriously at risk. We need to learn all the lessons from the crisis, and put them into practice together.
· The changes the Commission is putting in place are not detrimental to the UK, but rather for its long term benefit.
· The new regulatory and supervisory structure need to be safer and to create a more equitable financial system for EU citizens.
· International coordination is crucial.
© European Commission
