Thursday, June 27, 2013
C0.23 (Oudemanhuispoort)
The global harmonization of financial standards is an important dimension of efforts to reform financial institutions and prevent the occurrence of another financial crisis. This paper explores the EU’s contribution to global financial reform through an investigation of the implementation of the Basel III Accord. Traditionally, the EU has been considered as an important driver of global financial reform, not least due to the European Commission’s sustained commitment to internal harmonization and broad support of the Basel process. Departing from common perceptions emphasizing the role of the Commission, this paper provides evidence of (EP) parliamentary activism in the politics of global financial reform. The argument is developed in an in-depth study of the current EU capital requirement legislation implementing the Basel III Accord, drawing on a broad range of interviews, and other primary and secondary sources. The paper traces the role of the EP in the legislative work and systematically assesses the variety of sources of expert information upon which Members of the EP (MEPs) draw in the detailed preparation of legislation. Theoretically, the analysis sheds light on the conditions under which the EP may develop institutional autonomy and it contributes insights into the role of the EP in engaging outside interests and shaping the public agenda, here including the creation of an (MEP-sponsored) NGO aimed at balancing the power of producer interests in the domain of financial regulation. Substantively, it provides some clues as to why the Commission, departing from past behavior, has favored a selective implementation of the Basel III Accord and it offers some speculative thoughts about what these changes might bode for the EU’s commitment to a multilateral reform of financial institutions.
