Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Jul 24
Ireland Pushes EU Capital Markets Deal by October, Seeking Backing From 9 More States
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Jul 24

Ireland Pushes EU Capital Markets Deal by October, Seeking Backing From 9 More States

1 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Jul 24

Summary

  • Simon Harris wants EU finance ministers to reach an agreement in October on capital markets reforms after winning an earlier commitment this month to try to close the file.
  • The plan would give the Paris-based European Securities and Markets Authority direct oversight of major market players, including stock exchanges and crypto trading platforms, as the bloc tries to deepen financial integration.
  • Support is still fragmented: even backers such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands want carve-outs, while Harris also needs at least nine more countries, including opponent Luxembourg, to secure a majority.
  • One flashpoint is a proposal letting asset managers passport funds across the EU after a single approval, a change that could cut Ireland’s and Luxembourg’s share of fund domiciles.
  • Ireland, which took over the EU presidency this month, is using its neutral brokering role to press capitals to weigh the costs and benefits of compromise amid fast-moving geopolitical change.

Insights

Can Ireland's finance minister negotiate a market reform deal that risks dismantling his own country's lucrative financial sector?
What hidden concessions are being drafted to convince skeptical nations to hand over their financial sovereignty to a single European supervisor?
Will a centralized EU financial watchdog destroy local fund hubs, or is it the only way Europe can survive global market shifts?