Over but far from finished – the EU’s financial services action plan

The EU deserves credit for completing the legislative phase of its ambitious financial services action plan (FSAP) on time. However, doubts remain about the quality of some of the legislation. As a result, confidence in the EU's ability to deliver a competitive single market in financial services has waned. The long-term success of the FSAP will depend on the effective implementation and enforcement of the new rules. In particular, the internal market directorate-general will need to devote more resources to ensuring that Member States fully implement the new legislation. Demands for a further ambitious legislative agenda for retail financial services, or even the creation of a single regulator - a 'Euro SEC' (or 'Euro Fed') - may increase in the future. However, the EU must provide sufficient time for the current raft of reforms to bed down before it starts thinking about new work.