Europe: the Commission's work programme - governance and financial regulation

Some of the matters being considered by the European Commission for inclusion in its work programme, and those already decided upon, have been outlined in a letter - available here - sent to MEPs by the Commission's President, José Manuel Barroso. Here is an extract concerning governance and financial regulation:

... the Commission will complete its financial reform programme by making further proposals including a set of crisis management tools for prevention and resolution of failing banks, improved market transparency, sanctions against market abuse, further strengthening of the bank capital rules and initiatives to improve corporate governance in the financial sector. In the coming days we will present legislative proposals to bring transparency and security to derivatives markets, and to address the issue of naked short selling including credit default swaps. Most of these proposals will be adopted by the Commission this autumn, with the rest to follow early next year, thus also ensuring that we have delivered on our international commitments to the G 20. We will want to work closely with the Parliament to accelerate decisions on these proposals.

The 2011 Work Programme will include:

• The ongoing work to complete and conclude a new framework for economic governance, including legislative proposals.
• The final measures to complete the comprehensive reform of the European financial system: MIFID review; UCITS rules on depositories and remuneration; legislation on packaged retail investment products; further amendments to the credit rating agencies regulation; legislation on crisis management and bank resolution funds; legislation on corporate governance. The Commission will also follow up on the conclusions to be reached this autumn in areas like taxes on the financial sector".

Note: the minutes for the June 2010 meeting of the European Corporate Governance Forum have recently been published: see here (pdf). These report that the Commission will be publishing a green paper on corporate governance in listed companies in Spring 2011.