NGO: ‘Reform EU financial expert groups’

The scale of the current economic crisis has taken the financial sector by surprise. However, several independent experts have warned for some time that the lack of
regulation in the sector meant a crisis was inevitable. These warnings were ignored by many financial and political institutions, including the European Commission. Instead,
the Commission formulated its financial policy almost exclusively on the basis of advice from the financial industry and the very people who were unable to predict the crisis.

This ‘expert advice’ mainly comes from so-called Expert Groups. These Expert Groups, which according to the Commission’s own guidelines should represent a cross-section
of views, are hugely influential in the drafting of EU legislation.

An analysis of the composition of the groups which gave or still give advice to the Commission on financial issues shows an overwhelming dominance of representatives from the financial industry. This means that large private banks, insurance giants and a whole range of financial enterprises are hugely over-represented and wield significant power within the EU legislative process – from the drafting of EU strategies and laws to their implementation.

Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU): A captive Commission: The role of the financial industry in shaping EU regulation, 2010 http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/eu-unit/press-centre/reports/a-captive-commission-5-11-09.pdf

Libération, 2.7.10: Banks feel at home in Brussels (via PressEurop) http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/287161-banks-feel-home-brussels

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