17 Amendments of Antanas GUOGA related to 2016/2056(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Agrees with the Commission that the lack of cross-border financial services is a major concern and may harm the interests of consumers and businesses, as well as undermine the functioning of the single market; supports all efforts to find new ways to re-launch the single market for retail financial services in practice;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Stresses, as outlined in the Green paper, that barriers preventing financial products from being sold across borders and the lack of cross-border sales are not primarily found in European law but either in barriers caused by national legislations or by the voluntary choice of financial institutions to segment the single market into national markets; asks the Commission to undertaken further analysis to understand this market segmentation and price discrimination and to recommend in a white paper, while respecting the freedom to contract, measures that could be introduced to encourage financial institutions to compete beyond national borders and to challenge current national pricing structures;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Underlines the continued lack of cross-border sales of individual third party liability vehicle insurance is especially concerning; notes this lack of competition has led to some EU citizens paying rates that are hundreds of times higher than others for the same vehicle model; while understanding that risk and costs are factors in prices, notes that these factors are not sufficient to explain such price fragmentation across Europe; asks the Commission to adopt an sector specific action plan on the European market for individual motor vehicle insurances, including recommendations as to EU wide rules on guarantee funds, guidelines on the use of 'bonus-malus' data when a EU citizen moves to another Member State and other possible actions needed to create a true single market for vehicle insurance;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. CWelcomes the benefits brought to consumers by the digital transformation of financial services and the raise of non- traditional fintech companies which have started to change the way retailers and consumers interact; calls on the Commission to ensure that digitalisation brings better market access for all businesses on an equal footing, especially for SMEs and fintechs, and greater consumer choice, bringing down price differences of financial services within the EU;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is concerned that consumer trust in financial services remains low, and calls on the Commission to bring forwardensure that current measures towards improved consumer financial literacy and awareness are fully implemented, to increase the transparency of these products, and to remove consumer barriers to switching; underlines that the European Standardised Information Sheet (ESIS) and Standard European Consumer Credit Information forms should be systematically given to consumers before an agreement as part of a credit, loan or mortgage estimate;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Member States to fully transpose and implement the MCD, PAD, IDD MiFID II directives as soon as possible, especially in relations to their consumer information requirements and protection measures;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Stresses the roles played by the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) in ensuring the protection of the consumers of financial products; asks the Commission to ensure they have the independency and tools needed to carry out their missions and regrets the budget reductions which have led to the limiting of their working programmes;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that unjustified discrimination based on residence and price differences for common retail financial products between Member States requires urgent action; suggests that comparison tools play a role in bringing down price differences; believes that retail financial institutions should be within the scope of the Commission's proposal on Geo-blocking (2016/289/EU).
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Emphasises the importance of availability of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and online dispute resolution (ODR), especially cross-border, as efficient redress is key to the single market and consumer trust; recommends that the Fin- NET programme be incorporated into the ADR and ODR structures in order to increase its efficiency and the work towards consolidating such services into 'one-stop-shops' for consumers;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Asks the Member States to ensure that digital communications and sales related to retail financial services are available in forms accessible to persons with disabilities, including via websites and downloadable file formats; supports the full inclusion of all retail financial services within the scope of the Directive on the accessibility requirements for products and services (the "European Accessibility Act");
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Asks the Commission to work with retailers, consumer organisations and other relevant stakeholders towards the creation of an independent pan-European comparison website for the most sold financial services products;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Asks the Commission to assess the impact of a proposal to ban all fees or charges related to the sending or receiving of SEPA or national wire- transfers and the potential benefits for European consumers;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Welcomes the work towards greater transparency in the pricing of rental car services, including the sale of ancillary insurances and other fees; stresses that all fees or charges, either required or optional, connected to the rental a vehicle should be visible to the consumer on the rental company or comparison website in a clear and highlighted manner; reminds the Commission of the need to enforce the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and welcomes the recent adoption of new implementing guidelines in light of technological change;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9c. Underlines the need to remove all barriers to the provision of financial services across borders includes national requirements to establish a structure or register in the Member State of the consumer; reminds the Member States of the current legislative requirements and case law in this domain and believes that if barriers are not removed that the Commission should take additional measures;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 d (new)
Paragraph 9 d (new)
9d. Welcomes the increased use of e- signatures and e-identification within the framework of the eIDAS regulation; asks the Member States to work to ensure that e-signatures become the norm for financial service transactions and agreements; calls on the Commission to promote the use of e-IDs as a means of remote identification which meets current safety requirements while not hindering business at a distance;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 e (new)
Paragraph 9 e (new)
9e. Recalls the work done relating to the credit rating agencies regulation; asks the Commission to review the impact of such legislation in relations to products sold to retail consumers;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 f (new)
Paragraph 9 f (new)
9f. Supports the introduction of a fully transferable bank account number system to replace the current SEPA system which ties a consumer to a single institution via the linking of an IBAN with a fixed BIC/SWIFT code; calls on the Commission to introduce a proposal to allow the portability of bank account numbers and believes that, at a minimum, portability should be possible between institutions within a single Member State;