The European Parliament has voted to adopt an agreement reached between the European Union (EU) institutions regarding the review of the European system of financial supervision.
The move was welcomed by Insurance Europe, the European insurance and reinsurance federation, who said the decision would uphold the authority of national supervisors.
“Insurance Europe welcomes the result of today’s vote,” said Olav, Jones, Deputy Director General of Insurance Europe.
“The agreement reached will help to maintain the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) as a strong, standalone supervisor for the EU insurance industry, while maintaining the important role of national supervisory authorities.”
EIOPA’s board of supervisors (BoS) will remain the main decision-making body under the revised system, which Insurance Europe believes will ensure that national supervisors have the final say in decisions that impact them directly.
It also considers it a positive that national supervisors remain responsible for the oversight of internal models, claiming that the close links between an insurer’s model, its risk profile, and its governance mean that such oversight must remain with the actual supervisor.
Additionally, Insurance Europe welcomed the decision not to force EIOPA to request disclosure of results at an individual level, as well as the inclusion of the Authority in the decision-making process of the internal anti-money laundering committee.
