Sharon Bowles (ALDE). – Mr President, there have been long and difficult discussions on this directive in committee, in trialogues and variously in Member States, with the media, with venture capitalists and with fund managers of all types. Interestingly, the Member States that were most concerned about hedge fund activity were also those that did not have any regulation of hedge fund managers nor conduct-of-business rules to stop the selling to retail investors of some products only appropriate for professional investors. Similarly, the Member States most worried about asset stripping and hidden takeovers were ones without lower disclosure thresholds on shareholding and without disclosure of contracts for difference.

Now, wherever you are in the EU, there will be protection – and that is right. In the supervisory architecture, we have taken a big step towards a common rule book. The lesson of AIFM is that we must also take steps to early sharing of best practice.

So I say to the City, to my own Member State, the UK: be vigilant when promoting the export to Europe of a full range of market regulation with which you already comply. The end-product may not be exactly the same and therefore you will have to adjust, and I am afraid that does entail some cost. But sharing this best practice, exporting ideas early, is the way to avoid the trauma of legislation at a late stage.

That said, the end result that we have is an open and reasonably balanced one. It is not divergent from company law norms. It is not perfect, and it is certainly not as succinct as I would like but, given all the circumstances, I endorse it as a good result. I should like to thank personally Minister Reynders and Commissioner Barnier for their very important and active engagement in the trialogues.