Activities of Alain CADEC related to 2016/2056(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Green Paper on Retail Financial Services (A8-0294/2016 - Olle Ludvigsson) FR
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the Green Paper on Retail Financial Services PDF (329 KB) DOC (73 KB)
Amendments (27)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas removing the barriers which prevent us from taking full advantage of a single retail financial services market would result in improved competition, which should in turn lead to a fall in prices, motivate companies to innovate and improve product choice and diversity; whereas a European retail financial services market would only be viable if it represented real added value for consumers;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the further development of the retail financial services market at EU level would not only facilitate important and fruitful cross-border activity, but wouldmight also open up greater scope for healthyincreased competition at national level; whereas the impact of competition on prices will vary according to sector and product;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the rapid transformation brought about by digitisation and fintech innovation not only creates new and often better financial products for consumers, but also involves key challenges in terms of security, data protection, consumer protection and taxation, taxation, fair competition and financial stability;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas micro-enterprises, SMEs and mid-caps are the backbone of the European economy and the drivers of employment and growth; whereas every European law and initiative must be adapted to the characteristics of such companies;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission Green Paper on retail financial services (defined as including insurance) and the vivid and productive debate that it has generated so far; also welcomes the public consultation on the Green Paper, which has given those involved the chance to put forward their opinions based on their specific situations and/or sectors; underlines that a single approach for retail financial services would be counter-productive, given the diversity of the actors and products concerned;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Takes the view that digitalisation will continue to create new opportunities for consumers, investors, SMEs and other companies in terms of competition, cross- border activities and innovation; stresses that digitalisation alone is not sufficient to create a viable European retail financial services market; notes that the many obstacles such as the various tax, social, judicial, health, contract and consumer protection regimes, as well as the different languages and cultures, cannot be overcome solely by means of digitalisation; asks the Commission to adapt European legislation to the digital economy;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Finds the Green Paper initiative to be timely, particularly given the need to work proactively at all stages of the policymaking process in order to be able to track and steer developments in such an innovative and fast-changing market; stresses that a large number of legislative texts have been drawn up in recent years in the area of retail financial services; asks the Commission to give priority to the transposition and implementation of this legislation over proposing new legislative initiatives;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Asks the Commission to ensure that the same rules apply to any given service in order to avoid creating distortions of competition, particularly with the emergence of new providers of retail financial services; stresses that these rules must not act as a brake on innovation;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Stresses that a European retail financial services market must benefit SMEs in terms of both supply and demand; in terms of supply, this means ensuring an improvement in access to financing for SMEs; in terms of demand, it means enabling SMEs to access cross- border markets more easily; emphasises that increasing competition must not penalise SMEs providing retail financial services which operate on a local basis;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises, in particular because of low levels of consumer trust and satisfactionin order to boost consumer trust in the single market, that the Green Paper initiative can succeed only if it has a strong focus on creating an EU market in which well- protected consumers have access to transparent, straightforward and good- value-for-money products;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes the increasing complexity of some retail financial products; insists on the need to developwelcomes the recent initiatives and instruments that allow consumers to identify safe and simple products within the range of products available to them; supports initiatives such as the Key Investment Information Document for undertakings for collective investments in transferrable securities (UCITS) and the Key Information Document for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs); stresses the need to adapt these information mechanisms to the digital reality; calls for the need to ensure that the amount of information is not so great that it cannot be understood by consumers;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls the recent developments in the legislative framework for the banking sector, in particular the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive and the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive; insists on the need to inform consumers fully about the impact of the new rules; asks the Commission to check whether the Member States are correctly applying the directive on deposit-guarantee schemes;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Notes that a European retail financial services market will only be feasible if consumers benefit from the same legal protection throughout the EU; highlights the need to update and promote the 'FIN-NET' financial dispute resolution network;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Considers that structural changes under way in the financial sector – from the emergence of financial technology companies (fintechs) to mergers and takeovers – which could result in staff cuts and branch closures must be effected without any reduction in the quality of services to the most vulnerable, particularly elderly people and people living in rural or sparsely populated areas;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that frontline employees at financial institutions have a crucial role to play in opening up retail services to all strands of society and to consumers all over Europe; points out that such employees should, in principle, be given the training and time necessary to be able to serve their customers accurately, and should not be made subject to sales targets or inducements that could bias or distort their advice;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Emphasises that the enforcement of EU and national financial and consumer legislation needs to be strengthened; notes, at the same time, that the volume of legislation on retail financial services has expanded significantly in recent years with the aims of improving prudential stability, strengthening consumer protection and restoring confidence in the sector; stresses that the European Supervisory Authorities should step up their activities on consumer issues and that the agencies responsible in a number of Member States should start to work more actively and competently in this field; calls on Member State supervisory authorities to conduct exchanges of good practice to ensure that retail financial services legislation is applied in a way that safeguards fair competition;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls for the Commission to intensify its work againstexamine the evidence of discrimination on grounds of residence in the European market on retail financial services and, if necessary, to complement the planned general proposals to end unjustified geo- blocking with further legislative initiatives targeted specifically at the financial sector; once all the EU rules on retail financial services have been fully implemented and subjected to monitoring and analysis; notes that a range of basic factors affecting retail financial services, such as different social insurance, tax and health systems and different rules on contracts and consumer protection, etcetera, can result in differences between the types of service offered in each Member State; calls on the Commission to take into consideration the range of sectors, products and services involved in connection with the use of the term ‘geo- blocking’; recognises that geographical information, including place of residence, has to be taken into account in the provision of certain financial services such as insurance because it affects very significant aspects of many insurance products;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Urges the Commission, inter alia on the basis of the structure of the Payment Accounts Directive (PAD) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority’s analysis of the insurance sector, to put together a step-by- step action plan for building a well- organised and easy-to-use EU comparison portal covering most or all parts of the retail financial services market; emphasises that comparison tools must be accurate and of relevance to consumers and must focus not only on the prices of products but also on their quality;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. UCalls on the Commission to promote the mutual recognition and interoperability of digital identification techniques, without affecting the level of security of existing systems; therefore urges the Commission and the Member States, by working carefully on the implementation of the eIDAS Regulation and the new anti-money laundering legislation, inter alia, to create – as should be entirely feasible – a general environment in which robust security requirements are combined with fair and simple procedures for consumers to identify themselves; also asks the Commission and the Member States to identify and remove regulatory barriers to the use of electronic signature systems for subscribing to financial services;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls on the Commission to examine new approaches with the potential to give companies greater regulatory flexibility to experiment and be able to innovate, while maintaining high levels of consumer protection and safety;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Stresses the need to encourage retail financial services providers to finance projects associated with innovation and the environment; points out that an approach similar to that of the SME supporting factor could be considered;
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)
Paragraph 18 c (new)
18c. Stresses the need to raise consumers’ awareness of investment options;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Asks the Commission to study further the feasibility, relevance, benefits and costs of guaranteeing domestic and cross-border portability in various parts of the retail financial services market (for example as regards insurance products and bank account numbers);
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Notes the initiative taken by the Commission in studying the feasibility of a standardised pan-European personal pension product; takes note of the final report by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) on public consultation No CP- 15/006 on creating a standardised pan- European personal pension product; underscores the need, when examining the possible introduction of a standardised pan-European personal pension product, to respect Member States’ standards for pension products;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Encourages the Commission, while ensuring financial stability, to move forward in creating a stronger single market for mortgages and consumer credit, but to do so carefully, balancing privacy and data promphasises that the Mortgages Directive is currently being transposed, or is in the process of implementation, in the Member States; encourages the Commission to monitor its transposition and implementation attecntion concerns wively and to analyse the improved cross-border access to better- coordinated credit databases and making sure that credit-related incidents whereby consumers have been unreasonably exposed to currency exchaact of this legislation on the retail financial services market; notes that there are still significant barriers to the creation of a stronger single risks are not repeatedmarket for mortgages and consumer credit;
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Asks the Commission to conduct, with the Member States, a joint analysis of the implementation and impact of EU legislation on retail financial services; calls on the Commission and Member States to examine in detail the legal barriers and other remaining obstacles to cross-border operations and to the completion of an EU retail financial services market; stresses that the specificities of SMEs must be taken into account in such an analysis;