Olle Schmidt (ALDE). – (SV) Madam President, Commissioner, I should like to say a big thank you to Mr Rasmussen and Mr Lehne for their important reports. As many have pointed out, they could not have come at a better time.

Developments on the US mortgage market have had major consequences for the entire global market over the last year. Bad loans have been bundled and passed on. Short-sightedness and the difficulty and complexity of many of the new market instruments have made the market more obscure and fast-moving. Besides, exorbitant remuneration for company directors has seriously shaken confidence – I think we can agree on that. Nor have the world’s financial supervisory authorities been able to strengthen their cooperation and competence sufficiently. New instruments have been introduced; openness and transparency have been lacking. The starting point now should be the equal treatment of all financial market players; that is to say, the introduction of stricter capital requirements and regulation, including for hedge funds and private equity.

On the matter of supervision, there has been discussion of the need for new authorities, in which regard many – I saw Gordon Brown only today – have been pressing for a common European, indeed even a global, system of financial supervision. In my opinion, the continuing differences between markets – as illustrated by developments in the United States – give cause for reflection. On the other hand, markets are connected globally. As our committee also said, the existing committees in Europe for cooperation in the financial, banking and insurance fields should be strengthened considerably. A great deal can be done in this regard – including at global level. Transparency and clearer supervision need to be achieved if we are to rebuild confidence in the financial market. I believe that there is a complete consensus on this, too.

The market economy needs clear rules, including clear rules of play. As a Liberal, I have no difficulty at all in arguing in favour of clearer rules and more effective legislation. On the other hand, we must take care not to introduce laws and rules that do not solve current problems and do not take account of the importance of a global financial market. Global access to capital increases growth potential and creates new jobs – we should not forget this. Europe needs an open, effective financial market that also leaves scope for self-regulation and internal remedial measures.

The challenge, therefore, is to avoid paralysing our systems by over-regulating, leaving us unable to handle either growth or new crises. This week there was panic among the financial community. We must not let such panic dictate our legislation – at least in this House.