In response to the confirmation of the new EU Commission, Chris Cummings, Chief Executive, TheCityUK, said:
“With the new EU Commission now formally voted in by the European Parliament, the financial and related professional services industry across Europe has an important role in helping to deliver the jobs and growth agenda set out by President-elect Juncker. His vision for the mandate is clear – a Europe that will return to growth, which is stronger and more cohesive with renewed financial stability.
“Lord Hill’s commitment to improving the ability of SMEs to access finance will be essential to help fuel the economy and drive sustainable economic growth. Important regulatory reform was achieved by the last Commission and much implementation remains to be done. The impact of regulation on SMEs should be considered when analysing the impact and detail of these reforms.
“Lord Hill has described the broad principles on which a Capital Markets Union should be based, but it is clear that further work and analysis still needs to be undertaken before a detailed work-plan can be adopted. It will be important for policymakers to work closely with the industry to grow the market for sources of finance complementary to bank lending. TheCityUK urges policymakers to use non-legislative and market-based solutions wherever possible and develop a Capital Markets Union that works effectively with corporates across the EU and in harmony with other policy priorities, such as SME finance, infrastructure development and energy and climate change policy.
“The need to improve Europe’s competitiveness lies at the heart of responding to the challenges and opportunities of globalisation. An outward-looking EU is vital. TheCityUK strongly endorses the key goal of negotiating an ambitious trade agreement with the US that President-elect Juncker raised in his remarks before the European Parliament.”