43 Amendments of Eero HEINÄLUOMA related to 2020/2036(INI)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
- having regard to the March 2018 action plan from the European Commission on Fintech,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the CMU should provide a regulatory environment which mitigates risks to financial stability, and adequately protects the interests of retail investors, pensioners and consumers;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas legislative harmonisation remains insufficient to create a truly European capital market if diverging national implementation, supervision, and enforcement practices remain in place;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the actions taken so far to achieve the CMU are moving in the right direction; whereas much work nevertheless remains to be done in terms of the precision, effectiveness and simplification of the measures adoptedhowever, progress towards achieving CMU has been limited, multiple targets have not been reached and the importance of bank lending as compared to equities has actually increased in recent years as a source of investment funds in the EU;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas most measures that have been considered and implemented aim to improve and unify capital markets relate to the professional tools and financial vehicles available to practitioners in intermediation and their clients (basically institutions, funds and high net worth individuals), the CMU needs to mobilise retail demand, which in Europe lags at well below the levels prevailing in the USA or Japan; whereas to achieve such an objective, retail investors have to experience a change in investment culture; whereas such a change will only happen when retail investors become convinced that investment in capital markets is desirable because it can be of profit to them more than say, bank deposits, while being subject to risks that are acceptable and clearly defined;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas SMEs accounted for 99.8% of all enterprises in the EU-28 non-financial business sector (NFBS), generating 56.4% of value added and 66.6% of employment in the NFBS; whereas micro SMEs accounted for 93% of the sector, small SMEs 5,9% and Medium-sized SMEs only 0,9%1a; _________________ 1aEuropean Commission ANNUAL REPORT ON EUROPEAN SMEs 2018/2019
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the social and economic crisis resulting from COVID-19 will have a particularly negative impact on SMEs and retail saverscould similarly affect retail savers (though in the course of the pandemic, individual savings mostly held in banks have risen sharply); whereas the EU’s response to COVID-19 through the European Rrecovery Pplan should provide a large injection of capital in order to increase European enterprises’ access to finance;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas one of the challenges of a CMU is to ensure equal access to financing and to investment opportunities across the European Union, which should be geographically balanced, reaching citizens and businesses in core and peripheral regions of the European Union;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas investment activities tend to remain confined by national borders, and retail investors face numerous obstacles to access opportunities outside their Member State, due to legal uncertainty, language and cultural barriers, market fragmentation and costly inefficiencies in the EU;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas the lack of a centralised mechanism with easily accessible, reliable, understandable and comparable public information is one of the reasons why companies struggle to find investors;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas the funding ecosystem for SME IPOs in the EU is underdeveloped due to information asymmetries, high costs, administrative burdens, and lack of equity culture; whereas investors find it difficult to evaluate young and small firms with a short business record thus hindering innovative openings especially by young entrepreneurs;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. whereas Fintech has the potential to suit certain needs of SMEs and retail investors by allowing decentralised ways of operating and delivering efficiency improvements;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls for the removal of barriers, including the simplification of legislation , where appropriate, to diversify funding sources for SMEs, in order to promote SMEs’ ability to access equity markets, and to reduce the existing debt bias; points out that the current situation makes SMEs more fragile and vulnerable;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the mandatory feedback given by banks when declining SME credit applications, as a more comprehensive feedback could give the opportunity to SMEs with declined requests to adapt their business approach and to learn;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to actively inform SMEs of the alternative financing instruments available to them;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Welcomes the idea of establishing a European Single Access Point (ESAP) to aggregate information about companies in the EU through the interconnection of existing national and EU registers and databases of company data, as a way to support companies, in particular in smaller Member States, to attract investors; stresses that companies should be able to control the availability of their data in the ESAP;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for the acceleration of the development of EU venture capital (VC) and private equity markets by increasing the availability of funding for VC investments, developing larger late-stage VC funds, tax incentive schemes for VC and business angel investments, and active IPO markets for VC-backed companies under a common, and transparent, EU level framework; underlines that these tax incentive schemes should be designed so as to be economically and socially viable and responsible;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 126 #
5. Calls for targeted measures within securities market legislation to expedite the recovery after the COVID-19 crisis; supports changes inSubject to the priority of safeguarding regulatory standards, favours the review of the Prospectus Regulation, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MIFID), the Securitisation Regulation and the Market Abuse Regulation to facilitate investments in the real economy, in particular in SMEs, and to allow newcomers and new products to enter the markets, preserving consumer protection and market integrity while encouraging cross-border equity investments and trades;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Aasks the Mmember Sstates to amend their national tax frameworks, in order to reduce tax obstacles to cross-border investments, including withholding tax proceduresmost especially with reference to withholding tax procedures for which, beyond seeking to converge their national practices, tax authorities should participate in a pan-European digital platform where withholding tax liabilities and refunds across jurisdictions are cleared transparently such that retail investors are able to determine returns on their investment in real time, and to increase financing by investors to long- term investment opportunities thereby improving returns on long-term savings for EU citizens;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the necessity of advancing further in the implementation of a genuinely Single Rule Book for financial services in the internal market, where priority should be given to the continuing development of common definitions and standards on sustainable finance;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Underlines the need to promote pension provision; welcomes the Pan- European Personal Pension (PEPP) product, whose regulation foresees that capital should be invested taking into account environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors; notes that PEPP is as a complementary and voluntary pension pillar with regard to national public pension systems; reminds Member States that PEPPs need to be subject to the same tax treatment as national pension products to become an option for savers;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Encourages the Member States to promote multi-pillar pension systems, including occupational pension schemes, as a way to improve market dynamics and the incentives to invest; believes that private pensions should be revitalised and made more attractive; encourages the participation of investors in long-term products with tax reduction or exemption policies designed to generate broader economic and social beneficial impact;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Sstresses the need for European and national supervisory authorities to overcome their differences; calls for supervisory convergence to promote a common European model of supervision and seamless enforcement, guided by the European Securities and Mmarket Aauthority (ESMA), and, where appropriate, the EIOPA, to reduce the existing obstacles to cross-border fFinancial operations; understands that convergence had best be attained within a decentralised framework that allows national supervisory authorities to fulfil their functions closer to market players; believes that such convergence had best be attempted as part of the Digital Europe programmes;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses the need for European and national supervisory authorities to overcome their differences; calls for supervisory convergence to promote a common European model, guided by the European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA), to reduce the existing obstacles to cross-border financial operations; Is very concerned about the revelations following the Wirecard scandal on shortcomings in the supervision. Underlines that credible audits are vital instruments to build trust in the financial situation of companies. Notes that such audits can only be provided if there is a full independent relationship between auditor and client, and that this independence can by no means be affected by providing non-audit services to the audited entity. Calls therefore on the Commission for a swift review of regulation 537/2014 on statutory audit of public-interest entities to strengthen the rules on rotation, to ensure a full legal separation between the providing of audit and non-audit services, and to ensure that ESMA gets direct supervisory powers over the audit sector.
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on the Commission to ensure the proper funding of civil society operators and consumers representatives in the field of financial services, who offer invaluable insight and independent assessment to policy-makers and regulators;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Notes the lack of information about the non-debt financing market for SMEs; calls in this regard for better data collection about the non-debt financing tools previously used by the SME population; insists that it could significantly help in assessing and implementing policies in this area;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Is concerned that retail investors’ engagement with financial markets remains low; calls for measures to promote retail investments in view of the demographic challenges faced by the EU by increasing the participation of retail investors in capital markets through more attractive and appropriate personal pension products; in particular, welcomes the new uniform set of criteria for EU-wide rules to help crowdfunding services function smoothly and foster cross-border business funding, notably for medium-sized and micro- enterprises;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. RecCalls the existence of different shortcomingsfor the improvement of the disclosure and comparability of key information in the legislation on packaged retail investment and insurance products (PRIIPs) that should be addressed in the next review; expects that Level 2 PRIIPs legislation on the Key Investor Document to respect level 1, in particular in relation to the performance scenarios; regrets the delays in the adoption of Level 2 PRIIPs legislation that will overlap with the first review of PRIIPs, and which increases legal uncertainty and costs for stakeholders; insists that the forthcoming review should provide for disclosure documents which are standardised and machine readable, thereby providing for comparability in a digital-friendly way;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Is of the opinionTakes note of the belief expressed by financial market intermediaries that the current reporting framework within MIFID II and the European Mmarket Iinfrastructure Rregulation (EMIR) is very costly and complex, hindering the effectiveness of the system; believes that a simplification thereof is necessarshould be considered while taking full account of current experience and ensuring that this in no way serves to undermine the aims set for MIFID II and EMIR and without hindering rules on market integrity, transparency, consumer protection and financial stability;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls for amendments to legislation to ensure access to independent advice by financial intermediaries while avoiding promotion of the institution’s own financial products and ensuring a fair marketing of financial products; agrees that the role of inducements in intermediation and distribution should be further examined to ensure that no conflicts of interest arise and that financial advice is fairly, transparently and adequately supplied to investors;
Amendment 274 #
19a. Proposes to the Commission to look into the possibility for an EU Individual Savings Accounts, as a complement to national regimes, that could overcome national fragmented markets by operating in a uniform manner and across heterogeneous markets, ensuring portability and security of savings;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Insists that retail investors will be an integral part of the sustainable finance agenda and the EU’s sustainable development agenda; calls on the Commission to ensure that the taxonomy label methodology is clear and understood by retail investors;
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Underlines that financial education is needed to overcome low retail investor engagement with financial markets, based on lack of knowledge, mistrust and risk aversionNotes that lack of financial literacy and access to widespread public information about financial markets is one of the reasons that explain lack of equity culture in the EU; underlines that financial education is needed to overcome low retail investor engagement with financial markets, based on lack of knowledge, mistrust and risk aversion; insists that an information campaign directed to SMEs on the alternative financing instruments at their disposal could significantly help in deepening the CMU; urges the Commission to launch and support public programmes in Member States to foster financial and digital literacy using a range of instruments, including digital and social media, to engage with citizens and businesses, namely through public agencies created for that effect;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Emphasises that financial education is a medium-term tool, which enriches the financial system and which is a good step for engaging retail investors with financial markets; however, notes that up to now, financial education has had extremely limited traction in promoting and enhancing equity dealings, both nationally and on a cross-border basis;
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Calls for the promotion of Employee Share Ownership as a way to encourage citizens’ participation in capital markets and help develop an equity culture; proposes that this could be done through for instance a multilingual EU portal to raise awareness about the scheme and inform about its benefits;
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Takes the view that the digitalisation of financial services can be a catalyst for the mobilisation of capital in the EU while reducing barriers and increasing supervisory efficiency; emphasises that an EU framework with high standards of cybersecurity would be conducive to the CMU; notes that such EU framework should be primarily fit for the digital age and technology neutral;
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Calls on the Commission to use the forthcoming reviews of financial services regulations to foster investor and shareholder engagement through digital tools;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 b (new)
Paragraph 23 b (new)
23b. Stresses that many peer-to-peer lenders are already lending funds to small businesses, making crypto-assets a non- traditional financing channel for SMEs; insists in this regard that clear guidance is needed on the applicability of existing regulatory and prudential processes to crypto-assets which qualify as financial instruments as far as EU legislation is concerned, in order to provide regulatory certainty regarding crypto-assets; stresses that this guidance must be provided consistently at the EU level, to avoid different practices of qualification and supervision by national authorities, which creates an un-level playing field, forum shopping and regulatory arbitrage in the internal market;
Amendment 312 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 c (new)
Paragraph 23 c (new)
23c. Stresses that initial coin offerings, being the equivalent of IPOs for cryptocurrencies, have potential in funding SMEs, innovative start-ups and scale-ups; highlights that ICOs can facilitate the exchange of value without the need for a central authority or intermediary which allows for more efficiency and also for the democratisation of financing; notes in this regards that ICOs can accelerate technology transfer, and can be an essential part of the capital markets union; calls on the Commission to assess the advantages of proposing legislative framework for initial coin offerings and initial exchange offerings to foster a coherent EU approach, increase legal certainty, investor and consumer protection, raise warnings, and reduce risks stemming from asymmetric information, fraudulent behaviour and illegal activities;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Highlights that ‘sandboxes’ may be an adequate tool to enhance the innovation and competitiveness of the financial services sector; requests that the Commission createonsiders the creation of a pan-European ‘sandbox’ for fFinancial services; having due regard for both benefits and risks of these tools and the absence of a common EU framework, as analysed by the European Supervisory Authorities;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Points out that Europe competes for capital in a global market, and that, as a result, deeper, more integrated and efficient European capital markets are critical to protecting Europe’s economic sovereignty, the use of the euro in third countries, and to attracting foreign investors; believes that the exit of the UK from the EU makes this objective even more important and that it should be pursued according to transparent rules-based criteria and not case-by-case;