EU publishes EU-US cooperation rules in financial services

The European Commission has published a proposal for a framework for regulatory cooperation in financial services. 

Recognising that some of the differences in implementation of regulatory initiatives cannot be fully justified on prudential grounds and that these represent significant barriers to trade and investment, the EU has proposed the establishment within the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) framework a transparent, accountable and rule based process which would commit the two parties to work together towards strengthening financial stability. 

The regulatory cooperation would be based on a number of principles, including:

• joint work to ensure timely and consistent implementation of internationally-agreed standards for regulation and supervision;
• mutual consultations in advance of any new financial measures that may significantly affect the provision of financial services between the EU and the US; and
• joint examination of the existing rules to examine whether they create unnecessary barriers to trade; and
• a commitment to assessing whether the other jurisdiction’s rules are equivalent in outcomes.

Related link:
http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2014/january/tradoc_152101.pdf