The EU’s new financial services agenda

After five years of intense law-making, the European Commission promises fewer financial services laws for the remainder of the decade. But there is still no fully integrated single European market in financial services. The EU will have to undertake a substantial 'tidyingup' exercise, including important new measures in areas such as cross-border payments. It also needs to ensure that Europe’s financial regulators work together more effectively. In the longer term, the Commission is likely to come under pressure to make new legislative proposals to open up Europe’s protected retail financial services markets.