WRITTEN QUESTION E-2567/02 by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission. Euro-area price rises.
Date: 2002-09-16
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Eurostat, economic statistics, euro area, inflation, price increase

C 222 E/10

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

18.9.2003

(2003/C 222 E/010)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2561/02

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(10 September 2002)

Subject: Financial services harmonisation

Does the Commission see any reason why the maximum harmonisation approach (cid:1) which restricts the
ability of Member States to add requirements relating to corporate governance or disclosure (cid:1) should be
applied to listing rules for companies, or is the minimum standards approach more appropriate in this
case?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(4 October 2002)

At present, Community legislation does not prevent Member States from imposing stricter or additional
rules for the official listing of publicly traded companies. Neither Directive 2001/34/EC (1) on the listing
particulars nor the Community Company Law Directives provide for the maximum harmonisation
approach referred to by the Honourable Member.

Neither will this be changed by the completion of the Financial Services Action Plan, which the European
Council called for by 2005.

The Action Plan certainly provides for new directives in the area of securities markets. One of the
Commission proposals (2) in this context aims at a maximum harmonisation of rules for publishing a
prospectus. The reason for this approach is that such harmonisation would ensure that the approval of a
prospectus in the home Member State of a security issuer would automatically be recognised in all the
other Member States where a security issuer may wish to raise capital on regulated markets (principle of a
single passport for prospectus). This objective was fully supported by the Parliament during the first
reading of this proposal.

Publication of a prospectus, however, is only one amongst several conditions for admission of securities to
trading on regulated markets in Member States. There are many other requirements under national law or
under stock exchange rules, such as company’s minimum capital, company track record, corporate
governance issues, or further information which is not contained in a prospectus and therefore not affected
by the Commission proposal.

(1) Directive 2001/34/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 28 May 2001 on the admission of securities to
official stock exchange listing and on information to be published on those securities (cid:1) OJ L 184, 6.7.2001.
(2) Amended proposal for a Directive of the Parliament and of the Council on the prospectus to be published when
securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (cid:1) COM(2002) 460
final (not yet published in the Official Journal of the European Communities).

(2003/C 222 E/011)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2567/02

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(16 September 2002)

Subject: Euro-area price rises

Will the Commission break down Eurostat’s estimate of the possible rise in prices due to the transition to
the euro (cid:1) up to 0,2 per cent (cid:1) by euro-area Member State?

Will it compare those price rises with the institutional arrangements made in each euro-area Member State
to protect consumers, noting for each euro-area Member State any requirements for price control,
mandatory or voluntary dual display pricing and any other measure designed to avoid temporary
inflationary effects?

18.9.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 222 E/11

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(11 October 2002)

Eurostat’s analyses of the impact on inflation of the changeover to the euro are based on the Harmonised
Index of Consumer Prices for the euro-zone as a whole. No breakdown by individual Member State is
available.

The analyses for the euro-zone used statistical time series techniques which, if a breakdown by individual
Member State were calculated, would give less reliable estimates.

It is therefore not possible to conduct the comparison requested.

(2003/C 222 E/012)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2603/02

by Gerhard Schmid (PSE) to the Commission

(18 September 2002)

Subject: Informal systems for transferring money

Outside the official banking sector there are informal systems for transferring money (for example hawala
banking), which are used primarily for money transactions between members of ethnic communities but
are also used in areas where there are no official banks.

Can the Commission answer the following:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Is the use of such systems illegal in any of the Member States of the EU?

In which EU Member States are such systems for transferring money required to be notified or
registered (requirement to be registered as a financial institution or similar)?

In which EU Member States are they required to be authorised?

In which EU Member States are they subject to supervision, in the same way as credit institutions?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(30 October 2002)

The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) adopted eight Special Recommendations
(SR) on terrorist financing in October 2001 (1). SR VI is concerned with alternative remittance systems and
including via informal systems or
calls on countries to ensure that all money transmission services,
networks, are subject
failure to respect such
requirements should give rise to appropriate sanctions.

to a licensing or registration requirement and that

The situation of the Member States as regards the implementation of SR VI is as follows:

1. The Commission is not aware of any Member State in which the use of such systems by customers is
illegal. However, the failure by money transmission businesses to respect the licensing or registration
requirements is subject to sanctions in all the Member States except Finland, Greece and Ireland. Those
three countries have announced their intention of addressing this issue in planned legislation.

2. A registration requirement for money transmission services applies in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Italy,

Sweden and the United Kingdom.