Sittings · Document

DRAFT OPINION (2024/2108(INI)) 2025-04-30

On the implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs · Rapporteur: Eero Heinäluoma

AMENDMENTS

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs submits the following to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on International Trade, as the committees responsible:

Amendment 1

Motion for a resolution

Recital E a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	Ea. whereas the TCA still does not cover any decisions relating to equivalence in financial services;

Or. en

Amendment 2

Motion for a resolution

Recital E b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	Eb. whereas UK service suppliers, including those in the area of financial services, no longer benefit from the ‘country-of-origin’ principle or from ‘passporting’, which enables automatic access to the entire EU single market;

Or. en

Amendment 3

Motion for a resolution

Recital F a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	Fa. whereas the TCA outlines the legally binding framework for the relationship between the EU and the UK;

Or. en

Amendment 4

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 22 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	22a. Welcomes the conclusion of technical discussions on a competition cooperation agreement, allowing the competition authorities of the Member States to cooperate more directly with the UK Competition and Markets Authority on competition investigations;

Or. en

Amendment 5

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
23. [opinion-giving committees];	23. Recognises the importance of a strong financial services sector for both the EU and the UK;

Or. en

Amendment 6

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23a. Stresses the need for greater cooperation between the EU and UK, including in the financial services field; welcomes the UK Government’s renewed interest in the EU, with meetings at the highest level and engagements aiming to address shared challenges and explore avenues for closer collaboration;

Or. en

Amendment 7

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23b. Welcomes the work of the Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum, which serves as a platform to facilitate structured dialogue on issues relating to financial services between the EU and the UK; welcomes the fact that the forum has already met three times since 2023, discussing various regulatory developments in the EU and the UK with regard to banking, insurance, sustainable finance, digital finance and non-bank financial intermediation;

Or. en

Amendment 8

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 c (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23c. Calls for the parties to continue to use the EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum to identify and address shared threats to financial stability and investor protection, to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist financing, and also to address new developments and innovations in the financial markets, in order to promote a consistent approach where possible;

Or. en

Amendment 9

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 d (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23d. Stresses that internationally agreed standards, such as those stemming from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, remain the regulatory baseline for the global banking sector; therefore welcomes the fact that the EU and the UK have reaffirmed the significance of high international standards to ensure global financial stability; believes that strong, well-capitalised banks are the best guarantee of sustainable economic growth; expresses its concern about the UK’s decision to delay the implementation of the Basel III international regulatory framework for banks by one year, until 1 January 2027; calls for the full and consistent implementation of all aspects of the Basel III framework as soon as possible;

Or. en

Amendment 10

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 e (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23e. Acknowledges, despite its still rather low use and very volatile nature, the increased utilisation of crypto-assets in the financial sector, giving rise to new risks to the sector; believes that, given crypto-assets’ cross-border nature, a coordinated approach in the area of crypto-asset regulation and supervision is the best way to effectively address and mitigate the risks concerning consumer protection, market integrity and money laundering, as well as crypto-assets’ environmental impact; welcomes, in this respect, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets1a, which entered into full application on 30 December 2024, as a first step towards addressing the risks posed by crypto-assets to the financial sector; calls, therefore, for the UK to adopt similar legislation in line with the commitments taken in the Financial Stability Board’s global regulatory framework for crypto-asset markets and activities and global stablecoin arrangements; ______________ 1a Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 on markets in crypto-assets, and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010 and Directives 2013/36/EU and (EU) 2019/1937, OJ L 150, 9.6.2023, p. 40, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1114/oj.

Or. en

Amendment 11

Motion for a resolution

#Paragraph 23 f (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23f. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to shorten the settlement period for EU transactions in transferable securities from two days after the trade takes place (T+2) to one day after the trade takes place (T+1), with a view to strengthening the efficiency and competitiveness of post-trade financial market services in the EU, which is vital to a well-functioning Savings and Investments Union; welcomes the growing consensus between the EU and the UK around a T+1 implementation date of 11 October 2027;

Or. en

Amendment 12

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 g (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23g. Takes note of the substantial growth of non-bank financial intermediaries (NBFIs) in the EU and the UK, as well as the major vulnerabilities identified by the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) in this sector, particularly concerning leverage and liquidity mismatches; shares the concerns about the resilience of NBFIs, especially under market stress, as expressed by the ESRB and the UK’s Financial Policy Committee in this respect, and calls for enhanced monitoring and regulation of these entities;

Or. en

Amendment 13

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 h (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23h. Reiterates, in this respect, the importance of the timely implementation of the Financial Stability Board’s recommendations to enhance the resilience of money market funds (MMFs), particularly by removing features that can incentivise runs on banks; calls, therefore, on the Commission to come forward swiftly with a revised MMF proposal, in line with the FSB’s recommendations;

Or. en

Amendment 14

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 i (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23i. Takes note of the plans announced by the UK authorities to introduce a lighter regulatory regime for some alternative investment funds; stresses that simplification should not disguise a deregulation agenda; supports simplification measures, provided the policy objectives remain unaffected; calls, therefore, on the UK authorities to cooperate closely with the EU to ensure that this planned reform does not empty Directive 2011/61/EU on alternative investment fund managers1a of its substance, in particular around the delegation rules; ______________ 1a Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers and amending Directives 2003/41/EC and 2009/65/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 1095/2010, OJ L 174, 1.7.2011, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2011/61/oj.

Or. en

Amendment 15

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 j (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23j. Strongly supports continued cooperation between the EU and the UK in areas related to tackling international money laundering and terrorist financing, countering harmful tax regimes, implementing sanctions and tackling customs fraud to ensure a level playing field and promote global financial stability; welcomes, in this respect, the EU’s recent adoption of the anti-money laundering package and the establishment of the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism as important steps in tackling money laundering more effectively, as well as the continuous commitment, on the UK’s part, to tackling money laundering and other types of financial crime;

Or. en

Amendment 16

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 k (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23k. Is concerned by the UK Government’s 2024 estimate that up to 40 % of the world’s dirty money is laundered through the UK Overseas Territories and through London; fully supports the new UK Government’s commitment to crack down on dirty money effectively; welcomes the UK Government’s pledge to make beneficial ownership registers fully open to the public, including those in British Crown Dependencies and UK Overseas Territories;

Or. en

Amendment 17

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 l (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23l. Underlines that EU market participants rely heavily on clearing houses based in the UK, with over 90 % of euro interest rate derivatives processed at clearing houses based in the City of London; considers that this massive concentration could present a strategic risk to EU financial stability; believes the right balance should be struck between substantially reducing overreliance on UK-based clearing houses, on the one hand, and providing clarity to EU financial market participants, on the other;

Or. en

Amendment 18

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 m (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23m. Takes note of the updates to the European Market Infrastructure Regulation1a, as adopted in December 2024, which aim to address this overreliance by introducing an active account requirement; expresses concern, however, that the Commission’s decision to extend the equivalence for UK central counterparties for a further period of three years until 30 June 2028 risks a delay to the development of the active account requirement; ______________ 1a Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories, OJ L 201, 27.7.2012, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2012/648/oj.

Or. en

Amendment 19

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 n (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23n. Supports the agreement between the UK and the EU to continue to work together and with the wider international community to develop a common understanding of the benefits and risks of AI, particularly in relation to the rapid innovation of financial services, to financial stability, and to public trust and safety;

Or. en

Amendment 20

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 o (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23o. Considers the development of central bank digital currencies in both the UK and the EU to be an important opportunity to enhance payment systems, promote financial inclusion, improve monetary policy implementation and strengthen strategic autonomy; believes that the potential privacy and cybersecurity challenges arising in this regard can be addressed effectively;

Or. en

Amendment 21

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 p (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23p. Supports and welcomes the swift development of the digital euro, complementing and not replacing cash; highlights the benefits and increased autonomy from non-EU payment service providers;

Or. en