12 Amendments of João PIMENTA LOPES related to 2016/2056(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Points out that the Green Paper links up with and is complemented by initiatives such as the Digital Single Market, the Capital Markets Union and the Single Market Strategy, initiatives whose objectives and consequences entail heightened deregulation of the economy that will favour large economic groups and major powers in the EU to the detriment of workers, micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs and national production structures, and that consequently run counter to the interests of peoples, workers and Member States;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Rejects the idea that, in areas where the single market is supposedly well developed, consumers now benefit from better services and lower prices; notes that, on the contrary, examples such as the energy and transport sectors show that the imposition of deregulation in the sector and the liberalisation of prices in the name of the single market have led to a deterioration in services and a rise in costs for consumers;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission initiative, since opportunities for digitalisation, reducing market fragmentation and empowering consumers are crucial to achieving a genuine single market for retail financial servicIs extremely concerned by the European Commission initiative, regretting once again that opportunities for digitalisation and consumer empowerment are serving as a pretext for creating a single market for retail financial services whose chief consequences will be on the one hand the intensification of capital movements, and on the other hand the liquidation of smaller businesses operating in the sector and the subsequent concentration of capital and wealth in the largest financial groups at EU level, increasing the hegemony enjoyed by those groups and leading to a loss of autonomy and sovereignty for the Member States;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Points out that the Green Paper on retail financial services, under the pretext of the need to reduce costs for consumers and reap the benefits of technological development, is in fact a further contribution towards boosting the profits of large retail financial institutions, in particular by reducing labour and administrative costs, as demonstrated by its key proposal that these companies should be able to offer their products in any Member State without having to be physically established there; takes the view, therefore, that this proposal will help create a pan-European oligopoly in the retail financial services sector;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Takes the view that the possibility of opening accounts in institutions that are not physically established in the Member State of residence, without requiring customers to travel to that institution’s branches and using remote signature of contracts and distance verification of identity, will not only act as a catalyst for capital flight in future financial crises but will also help to weaken the fight against money- laundering;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Takes the view, furthermore, that this possibility will entail the closure of physical branches dealing with the public, which will reduce the quality of the service provided and lead to redundancies in the retail financial services sector; points out that the remote provision of services relies on customer support services staffed by subcontracting to temporary employment agencies, which are associated with precarious employment ties and working conditions and low wages, and in which workers are unable to acquire any link with the firm providing the service even when they have worked for that firm for several years;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to ensure thatRegrets that up to now digitalisation bringshas not brought better market access for businesses on an equal footing, especially for SMEs and fintechs, and greater consumer choice, bringing down price differences of financial services within the EUMember States;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is concernedTakes the view that low consumer trust in financial services remains low, and calls on the Commission to bring forward measuresstems from the behaviour of financial institutions themselves, since the 2007/2008 financial crisis, subsequent events in the retail banking sector in several Member States and the sector’s own direct and indirect involvement in tax avoidance and evasion schemes have been the engine driving this dissatisfaction and lack of trust; takes the view, therefore, that while it is important to improve consumer financial literacy, to and increase the transparency of thesefinancial products, and to remove consumer barriers to switching; this situation will be reversed only with a change in the way financial institutions behave towards their customers, alongside an appropriate legal framework and strong regulatory bodies that uphold the interest of the people and of workers in the context of each Member State’s sovereignty;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Asks the European Commission forto suspend presentation of an action plan on retail financial services.