The EU and IOSCO: an ever closer cooperation?

Abstract:

The paper examines the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), and it analyzes the role played by the European Union in the landscape of international finance. The aim is to test how far we can conceive of the EU as the heir to the traditional State rule-makers in the sphere of international financial soft-law. In order to do all this, we will first of all describe the historical context in which IOSCO was born, its legal nature, governance procedures and decision-making processes. Then, we will turn to look at the EU and its financial services law, its internal and external competence in order to understand the formal (and informal) role played by the EU in IOSCO. Finally, we will give an account of the quality and quantity of the implementation of IOSCO rules into EU Law of financial services. The result seems to suggest that the European Union is very likely to play an ever increasing role not only within IOSCO but also as a key actor on the global stage of international financial (soft-)law.