Green light for new Euro-insurance agency

The EU's members states have endorsed plans to shake-up Euopean financial services regulation.

At a meeting yesterday (September 7), the Council of Ministers backed an agreement hammered out last week with the European Parliament, as part of which a EU-wide new insurance supervision agency will be established.

Under the shake-up, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Eiopa) will take over the work of the looser structured Ceiops (Committee for European Insurance and Occupational Supervisors). .

The reform is designed to establish a new and more robust basis for supervision in Europe, eliminating deficiencies in the regulatory architecture exposed during the financial crisis.

Eiopa is one of three new regulators which will report to a new European Systemic Risk Board,which will provide macro-prudential oversight of the financial system.

The plans face one more hurdle when they come before the European Parliament for formal approval during its first plenary session which starts on 20th September.

It is then hoped that the new regulatory system will begin work in January next year.