European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis officially became the new EU Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union on July 16. Two days later, he traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with his counterpart, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, for the latest round of EU-U.S. talks on financial regulation.
Dombrovskis, the former prime minister of Latvia, replaced U.K. national Jonathan Hill after the Brexit referendum. During his visit to Washington, the two sides announced several changes to the existing framework for transatlantic cooperation. The talks, which are held twice a year, will include a wider range of participants, with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the European Securities and Markets Authority now getting a seat at the table.
The two sides issued a joint statement on July 26 outlining the topics that were discussed at the July meetings. The topics included several issues of interest to FIA members, including clearinghouse resolution, OTC derivatives reforms, data transfer and protection and the finalization of the G-20 financial reforms. The next meeting will take place in Brussels in February 2017.
During a speech in Washington, Dombrovskis explained that the new framework will result in more frequent meetings among the regulators and said that the purpose is to identify potential problems at an earlier stage of the regulatory process. Dombrovskis, who was elected to the European Parliament in 2004 after serving three terms as Prime Minister of Latvia, said the new framework will provide "a solid basis for improved cooperation" and pointed to the agreement on clearinghouse equivalence finalized earlier this year as an example of progress in this area.
European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis discusses framework for EU/US transatlantic dialogue.
