Press Release: Financial Services: Commission reports progress on Action Plan, outlines new priorities

The Financial Services Action Plan, setting out the framework for a comprehensive internal market in financial services, is progressing well but the European Commission has signalled five key areas for priority action in its latest progress report. The plan was first published in May 1999 (see IP/99/327). The Lisbon European Council has given fresh impetus to efforts to create a fully integrated market in financial services. The Commission's progress report notes that to reach the target of 2005 set by the Lisbon Summit for the plan's completion, implementation of the Action Plan must be accelerated in five key priority areas: a single passport for equity issuers, enhanced comparability of companies' financial statements, eliminating barriers to pension fund investments and undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) and a fundamental review of the Investment Services Directive. These five priorities are vital to the market integration that will underpin the Union's goal of becoming a competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.

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http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/00/556&format=HTML&rapid=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/00/556&format=HTML&rapid=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/internal_market/en/finances/actionplan/index.htm http://ec.europa.eu/comm/internal_market/en/finances/actionplan/index.htm

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