Bajuk: New Laws and Financial Stability Slovenian EU Priorities
Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk highlighted progress in European Commission legislative proposals and financial stability as he presented the priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency to the executive committee of the European Banking Federation (EFB) in Ljubljana on Friday.
Bajuk singled out from the legislative proposals contained in the Commission's White Paper on financial services policy for 2005-2010 the Solvency II directive in insurance.
He said Slovenia planned to cooperate closely with other member states, the Commission, and the European Parliament when drawing up the wording of the law.
According to him, the directive is to protect holders of insurance policies and increase the competitive edge of Europe's insurance industry while at the same time taking into account its diversity.
A debate on changes to the investment funds directive (Ucits II), the financial insurances directive, and the directive on settlement finality in payments and securities settlement systems is meanwhile also to get underway during Slovenia's presidency.
In the field of infrastructure, Slovenia plans to closely monitor the progress made in clearing and settlement and the "Target 2 Securities" project related to these issues. A debate on financial education for EU citizens and mortgage banking is planned for May's meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council.
"Questions of financial stability are among Ecofin's key priorities during Slovenia's presidency," Bajuk moreover stressed.
He said Ecofin would focus on three key areas: the response of the EU politics from the perspective of the developments that began in October 2007 and the insights gained, future activities related to the review of the Lamfalussy process, and a strengthening of EU agreements on financial crisis management.
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