Law & Regulation

In an unorthodox letter to the European commissioner for internal market and services, the chairman of Eiopa, has called for greater urgency on Solvency II.

The letter, addressed to commissioner Michel Barnier, and copied to Burkhard Balz, parliamentary rapporteur for Omnibus II, and Vassos Shiarly, president of the Ecofin Council, expresses the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority's concern that the negotiations on Solvency II have become “stagnant”.

Gabriel Bernardino wrote: “The lack of certainty about the implementation [of Solvency II] is undermining EU credibility in international discussions.”

He called for the commissioner to “come up with a sound and reliable timetable for the implementation of Solvency II as soon as possible”.

Bernardino wrote that the “credibility of the project” is at stake. “The timetable should consider a realistic assessment of the expected time needed to deliver the different milestones and it should be appropriately communicated to all stakeholders in order to eliminate the current uncertainty,” he said.

The chairman even called for the “possibility of earlier implementation of some Solvency II elements”, in order to counter the slow negotiations.