The EU has spent decades building and trying to complete a Single Market, yet fragmentation persists. Confronted with a patchwork of national legislation and varying administrative processes, European startups are at a systemic competitive disadvantage. The absence of a single, recognisable EU-wide company form has long been one of the missing foundations in Europe’s ability […]
Non-Bank Financial Intermediaries (NBFIs) from asset managers, private credit providers, insurers now account for nearly half of global financial assets. Operating outside of the traditional banking sector, these firms offer critical financial services and credit without taking deposits. As their influence in global market grows, so does regulatory attention. Policymakers and standard setters are ramping […]
Last week, the European Commission published its Savings and Investment Union (SIU) strategy, the new wrapper for its capital markets and banking union ambitions, rightly highlighting the need for an integrated and efficient financial services sector to deliver a broad range of the Union’s key policy and societal objectives. The challenges are unchanged from those […]
Get ready for a seismic shift in the post-2024 EU financial landscape – where economic imperatives, global competition, and recalibrated political priorities converge to shape a dynamic agenda ahead. In terms of setting the post-2024 EU financial services agenda, turnover in the European Parliament and in some Member State governments (Council) are not the primary […]
The EU’s Retail Investment Strategy - more than just inducements. A further attempt by the European Commission to get EU citizens to the capital market.
The Retail Investment Strategy in a Nutshell With only 30 per cent of EU citizens actively investing in the capital markets, the Commission has long been working on proposals that could make a meaningful difference by tackling transparency and cost issues. This has been focused on restriction to the inducements system of compensating intermediaries and […]
The slightly dampened momentum we saw on green finance over the course of 2022 is unlikely to shift materially this year as governments continue to grapple with economic and inflationary pressures. The stronger focus on energy security opposed to climate action is leading to a gradual loosening of sustainability requirements. This is challenging for businesses […]
Key takeaways This tension reflects a wider debate about how far governments can push sustainability objectives while managing growth, energy security and competitiveness pressures. State of play: UK and EU UK The Government is keen to maintain momentum in the aftermath of COP26. The Greening Finance Roadmap sets out an approach of early adoption and alignment […]
This year's International Women's Day (IWD) theme is #BreakTheBias. Throughout the year we will be interviewing the women of Flint about their experience of gender bias and the challenges women in public policy face. This month we interviewed Fiona Wright, a Partner based in Brussels. Her two decades of experience includes ten years of leading […]
The EU enters 2026 under sustained external and internal strain. As it readies its response to Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats, growing US pressure over Greenland risks escalating into the deepest transatlantic crisis in decades. One year into Ursula von der Leyen’s second term, the EU will also need to calibrate its increasing focus on […]
As COP30 in Brazil approaches, Flint experts unpack what this pivotal summit means for global climate action and international business. In this episode, our panel explores the key themes and initiatives shaping COP30 — from the next round of national emissions targets (NDCs) to the implications for global investment, carbon markets, climate finance, and sustainable […]
In this podcast, Flint experts explore the structure and policy direction of the new European Commission unveiled by President Ursula von der Leyen. Our experts discuss what the new allocation of portfolios reveals about the EU’s balance of power, internal dynamics and political priorities for the upcoming mandate, in the wake of Mario Draghi’s recently published […]
Partner Fiona Wright sits down with Gregor Kreuzhuber, Partner and Managing Director Europe and Benoît Roussel, Partner, to discuss the 2024 European Parliament election results and the implications of this for business.
22 Mar, 2024
EU 2024 series: What to expect from the next European Commission on financial services
While the upcoming European Parliament elections will have more of an indirect impact on policymaking in general, the EU environment for the financial services industry will also be shaped by external factors such as competitiveness, macro-economic and fiscal pressures, geopolitical tensions, and the challenges and opportunities of new technologies. In the context of the Letta […]
