A cross-party group of MEPs has rejected “ill-fitting” measures relating to the Priips regulations.
The European Parliament’s economics committee has pushed for veto on proposed standards for the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products regulations and says industry concerns have to be heard.
The European Commission had proposed regulatory technical standards for Priips under ‘delegated acts’ powers, giving the European Parliament the opportunity to overturn them.
European Conservatives and Reformists chairman and London MEP Syed Kamall said in a statement: “The committee would have preferred not to take this drastic step, but we have been hitting our head against a brick wall with the commission. These standards – as they stand – could hurt high street investors, like the millions of people who go into their bank to set up an ISA account.”
The MEP added: “This is not a political decision. A cross-party group of MEPs has come together to say that technical standards need to be accurate.”
Kamall said the commission has dismissed all opposition as “industry lobbying” but that the industry also contains fund providers who support the principle of the legislation but have legitimate concerns.
Yesterday, Better Finance criticised members of the European Parliament for, it said, only considering the views of the financial services industry in its proposal for rejecting the draft standards.
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