WRITTEN QUESTION P-0624/01

by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 February 2001)

Subject: Lisbon European Council and financial services

The 2000 Lisbon European Council invited the Council to step up work on structural performance indicators and to report by the end of 2000. Was this goal achieved?

The 2000 Lisbon European Council Council stated that steps should be taken to set a tight timetable so that the Financial Services Action Plan is implemented by 2005. What steps have been taken?

The 2000 Lisbon European Council Council stated that steps should be taken to facilitate the widest possible access to investment capital on an EU-wide basis, including for SMEs, by means of a single passport for issuers. What steps have been taken in this regard?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(24 April 2001)

The Commission published a Communication on structural indicators on 27 September 2000(1). The Ecofin Council approved on 7 November 2000 a report by the Economic Policy Committee entitled Structural Indicators: an instrument for Better Structural Policies which included a set of structural performance indicators. The Ecofin Council also agreed on 7 November 2000 a list of structural indicators with the Commission to be used for the Commission's synthesis report to the Stockholm European Council. The agreed list was based on the Commission Communication and the Economic Policy Committee's report. The French Presidency of the Ecofin Council sent the list of indicators to the European Council in Nice at the end of 2000 meeting the remit set in paragraph 18 of the Lisbon European Council conclusions that called on the Council to step up work on structural performance indicators and to report by the end of 2000. These indicators have now been used in the Commission's synthesis report to the Stockholm European Council.

The Commission monitors progress on the Action Plan(2) via the Financial Services Policy Group. The Group is comprised of personal representatives of finance ministers and chaired by the member of the Commission responsible for the internal market. Since the Lisbon Council, the meeting frequency has been stepped up from three to four meetings per year. The Group reports twice a year on progress to Ecofin. The latest report, presented to Ecofin on 27 November 2000, stated that progress is satisfactory, but with important qualifications. In the report, the Commission sets out a critical path for the Action Plan priority measures with a view to meeting the 2005 deadline. The next progress report will be presented to Ecofin on 5 June 2001.

Furthermore, the Commission has initiated enhanced co-operation between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission within the 2005 Group. This is an informal working group aimed at speeding up the implementation of the Action Plan by aligning the agendas of the three institutions and identifying strategic problems at an early stage.

As provided for in the Financial Services Action Plan and required by the Lisbon European Council, the Commission will adopt a proposal for a directive introducing the single passport for issuers. In the latest progress report to Ecofin on 27 November 2000, this measure was identified as a key priority in the Action Plan. The importance of this measure has been confirmed in the final Lamfalussy report of 15 February 2001. A draft directive has now been prepared and sent for inter-service consultation.

(1) COM(2000) 594 final.

(2) COM(1999) 232 final.