EU seeking tighter rules and new growth model
Europe needs a new growth model and tighter regulation to prevent another meltdown, said incoming EU internal market commissioner Michel Barnier yesterday.
The former French agriculture minister said the financial crisis meant “more governance and regulation where needed,” adding, “obviously times are different now.”
“Faced with the exit from the crisis that we’re trying to shape, faced with a new sustainable, green growth model, Europe has a role to play,” he said. Barnier’s comments come in the wake of French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s boasting that his appointment was a victory for Paris and a loss for the financial free-wheeling Anglo-Saxon model in London.
However, Barnier attempted to dispel British anxiety in a French TV interview claiming that he “won’t take orders from Paris any more than from London or Berlin”.
That Barnier has confirmed his independence from European capitals is encouraging, said a British Bankers’ Association spokesman.
“We have accepted the need for these tighter rules and are working with the European institutions to create an improved framework,” he said.