On 30 September 2015, the European Commission launched a call for evidence on the EU rules for financial services. The goal of the public consultation is to get feedback and empirical evidence on the benefits, unintended effects, consistency and coherence of the EU regulatory framework for financial services. Here, Finance newsletter gives you the main facts.

Why is the Commission consulting on the EU rules for financial services?

In the wake of the financial crisis, the EU put in place a wide range of measures to restore financial stability and public confidence in the financial system. As a result, the EU financial sector is now more resilient and in a better position to fund the European economy and support jobs and growth.

The Commission is not putting these recent hard-fought reforms into question. Nevertheless, it is important that EU legislation strike the right balance between reducing risk and enabling growth and does not create barriers that were not intended. Furthermore, if the legislation adopted over the past few years has produced unintended consequences, then the existing framework should be adapted, where necessary.

More concretely, what kind of feedback is the Commission hoping to get?

The Commission is looking for feedback supported by convincing, relevant and robust empirical evidence and concrete examples on:

• Rules affecting the ability of the economy to finance itself and to grow;
• Unnecessary regulatory burdens;
• Interactions, inconsistencies and gaps; and
• Rules giving rise to other unintended consequences.

What will the feedback be used for?

The feedback received will contribute to a clearer understanding of the interaction of the individual rules and their combined impact, including potential overlaps, inconsistencies and gaps. It will help the Commission make informed decisions when it comes to the individual reviews that are set out in the existing legislation and provide a more solid evidence base to help decide if follow-up action is needed. The consultation will also help the Commission to develop the most appropriate calibrations for the upcoming level 1 and level 2 measures. Furthermore, the feedback will allow the Commission to contribute to the ongoing global debate on the coherence and consistency of financial rules.

Who can contribute to the call for evidence?

All interested parties – including national parliaments and other EU institutions, Member States, citizens, SMEs, the non-governmental sector as well as the financial sector – are being encouraged to contribute to the call for evidence. Feedback that is backed up by convincing robust empirical evidence and concrete examples will have more chance of being considered.

What are the next steps?

Contributions should be submitted by 31 January 2016. All responses, unless otherwise specified, along with a summary of responses will be published on the consultation website. The Commission will publish a report of the main findings by mid-2016.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the call for evidence should use the online questionnaire.