EU finance ministers call for closer US ties

Europe's finance ministers on Tuesday called for closer ties with the US in order to boost economic growth.

UK finance minister Gordon Brown, who chaired the Luxembourg meeting of finance ministers for EU presidency, insisted more needed to be done. 

“We have underestimated the importance of what can be achieved by reducing barriers to competition between the EU and the US,” he said.

“In particular, we need to look at removing non-tariff barriers to trade, and this will be one of the key priorities of next year’s EU-US summit.”

Brown said the ministers had discussed a joint proposal from the UK, Austria and Finland to strengthen the trans-Atlantic economic relationship.

“The market in goods and services between the EU and the US is worth 0 billion, and there are some 14 million employed in sectors directly related to trade between the two blocs,” said Brown.

He said Europe would in particular seek to work more closely with the US on regulating financial services and opening up trade and investment.

Capital reserves agreement

But improving relations with the US was not the only item on the agenda.

The finance ministers also approved a new European Commission proposal on banks’ capital reserves – the money they must ring-fence to protect against unexpected risks.

“The commission’s proposal meets our aim of introducing better and more flexible regulation across the whole of the financial services sector,” said Brown.

Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said he welcomed the rapid approval of the proposal, which was rubber-stamped by MEPs in September.

“This important legislation will benefit consumers, businesses and Europe's economy as well as increasing financial stability.”

“The rapid progress that has been made with this proposal demonstrates that the EU is capable of acting quickly and effectively. Now we need to make sure it is implemented in a coherent way across Europe.”

A proposal on statutory audits of companies, introduced in the wake of the Parmalat and Ahold accounting scandals, was also approved by ministers.

“This is a crucial directive, which will bring EU financial reporting into the 21st century by introducing a much more rigorous and ethical audit process for company accounts,” said McCreevy.

“Importantly, it will also require the application of international auditing standards and establish criteria for public supervision.”

“All this will help to restore faith in the profession and in its independence, which was greatly undermined by recent high-profile scandals.”

The ministers also welcomed a progress report from Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes on investigations into possible barriers to competition in the financial and energy sectors.

“We must deliver the reforms necessary to deliver the benefits to consumers across Europe in both these sectors,” said Brown.

The ministers also underlined that the EU would continue to provide economic support both to the West Bank and Gaza Strip and to those areas of India and Pakistan affected by last weekend’s earthquake.

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