EIOPA chairman warns against more Solvency II delays

European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) chairman Gabriel Bernardino has called on the European Parliament, Commission and Council to agree on a clear timeline for implementing Solvency II after several delays.

Further delays could affect the reputation of the European Union (EU), Bernardino warned.

In a letter to the three bodies, Bernardino said: “In our view any further delays will lead to the development of national solutions that have the potential to hinder the efforts to achieve the greater European convergent practice that lies in the heart of this project.”

More uncertainty and voting delays risk further pushing back Solvency II even further, he said.

“They are also potentially harmful to the EU’s position and credibility in the international discussions.”

The European Parliament’s postponement of the vote on the Omnibus II Directive until March 2012 has hit EIOPA’s own Solvency II consultations, Bernardino said.

The directive is designed to correct any flaws in Solvency II.

EIOPA is going to publish advice for regulators to co-ordinate their plans for implementing Solvency II and advise them to talk to each other more about the project, Bernardino said in a speech to the House of Finance in Germany today.

The trade body will publish a report soon on the functioning of the groups of regulators, known as colleges, in 2011.