EU DEBATES
April 21, 2009
When I was in Brussels last week, it was quickly confirmed from a number of conversations that the tide is flowing strongly in the direction of a lot more regulation. Some of the ideas still circulating in the European Parliament, such as making the approval of some sort of EU approved ratings agency a prerequisite for some financial instruments, seem likely to erect barriers to business across EU borders, if they come to pass. There is still some time for these EU debates to run, though there are European Parliament elections in June and that imposes a pretty hard deadline. Because of EU-wide changes to the representative make up of the European Parliament, the number of Scottish MEPs is being reduced from seven to six, which will limit one of our channels for engaging in and influencing these debates. Once we are past the election, we will move quickly to establish lines of communication with our new, or returning, MEPs.
Owen
