Conference on EU Capital Markets Union: Contents and Discontents

Abstract

In February 2015 the Commission published its Green Paper on Capital Markets Union (CMU) and an Action Plan will follow later in 2015. The consultation period ends in May, so June/July is a good time to take stock. In terms of its intentions for market structure, CMU represents mimicry of the US, where capital markets rather than banking provide significant investment into medium size enterprises. (There are question marks around smaller enterprises.) In terms of the architecture of the European Union, CMU represents a return to the single market and community model of all 28 EU member states, rather than the ‘advance guard’ of Eurozone Banking Union and crisis management. In legal and institutional terms, CMU opens up questions on many fronts. For example: Questions about regulatory ‘recalibration’: CMU is “not … a big bonfire of existing regulations in the name of growth”, as Commissioner Jonathan Hill has cautioned the markets, but it does involve review and possible fine-tuning of legislation. Questions about governance and subsidiarity: possible strengthening of the European Securities Markets Authority; role of the European Parliament vis-à-vis democratic legitimacy; scrutiny by national parliaments. Questions about market conduct, where there has been a blizzard of legislation and pronouncements, yet conduct issues remains highly sensitive (including in the contexts of public and private investment, securitisation, and high leverage in the European Fund for Strategic Investment). The conference at IALS will explore these themes.