Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-05-23-Speech-3-097-000"
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"en.20120523.5.3-097-000"2
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"Mr President, honourable Members, I would like to thank you for a very diverse, broad debate. It shows quite clearly that the work put into the treatment of the Commission’s proposal for a transaction tax is important and is considered by Parliament to be of high priority. I am talking here about the work of both the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteur, as well as all the work put in by Parliament’s various committees. This is a matter that goes back to the Council. As I said in my introduction, we hope it will be on the agenda at the June Council.
There is one thing that I think is very pivotal in today’s debate, and that is the broad agreement there has been concerning the need for a sound, well-functioning financial sector. It is crucial for growth that enterprises have access to capital, and it is crucial that we have a financial sector that is not only dull enough to support sound products, but that is also sufficiently willing to take risks so that we can ensure that enterprises that create jobs can get the credit they need. I would therefore like to pay tribute to the work that the Council and Parliament have done jointly with the Commission as regards regulation of the financial sector.
By way of an initial result, based naturally on the work of other presidencies, we have already completed a joint piece of work aimed at putting trading in derivatives in an entirely new light. I think it is very important that we realise what a milestone the proposal is. Secondly, there are the recent Council resolutions, for which trialogues have yet to take place in respect of achieving better and greater autonomy for the credit rating agencies, obtaining more information on the basis of credit ratings, and achieving a real and genuine debate concerning what credit assessments are based on. Most recently, I also hope that Parliament appreciates the proposal for project bonds – and I am sure that is the case, from what I have heard in the debate here today.
Last, but certainly not least, I would like to mention the trialogue on capital requirements that will commence shortly. A huge amount of work has been done based on the Commission’s proposal, which heightens the requirements as regards the amount of capital, the quality of the capital, the liquidity available, management performed and the way it is ensured that financial enterprises are – if I can put it like this – in a good state before they start paying out bonuses and dividends.
I feel that, in the light of the debate here today on enhanced cooperation, agreement by the 27 Member States and the functioning of the internal market, it is very important that the proposals I have just mentioned are adopted unanimously in the Council, even though a qualified majority might have been sufficient for these proposals. This is because it reflects the fact that in Council, too, there is a common agenda based on securing an improved, better regulated financial sector.
The debate on a financial transaction tax thus supplements a substantial, heavyweight agenda dealing with regulation. A great many questions have been asked today, both by Members who support the proposed transaction tax and by Members who are against it: how will it work, who will actually pay the tax, should anybody be exempted from paying the tax, can we distinguish between speculative and non-speculative transactions, and if we do not succeed in getting unanimity in the Council, what advantages and disadvantages will enhanced cooperation have? As many Members have mentioned, achieving unanimity in the Council is a particularly long shot and, according to Members that support a transaction tax, implementing this within the context of enhanced cooperation will be problematic because of the internal market aspect.
Last, but naturally not least, there is debate concerning how great any revenues might be, and what they should be used for. We will continue to work on this in the Council. We have taken particularly thorough notes from the debate today and naturally, Parliament’s proposals and vote will form part of our future work. As I mentioned, we are taking a two-track approach. We will continue to investigate the Commission’s proposals, and the debate today will form a valuable part of that investigation, but we will also continue our work on discussing alternatives to a financial transaction tax. As I mentioned in my introduction, the countries tax the financial sector in various ways – whether through stamp duty, as has been mentioned several times today, or whether through activity-based taxes such as other countries have – for example, in the form of a payroll tax.
Finally, I should like to express my thanks for a very diverse and very inspiring debate. Your work and input will provide the Council with a further basis for its continued work, and will also guide us on the road ahead."@en1
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