Text tabled : A7-0167/2011

  Clemente Mastella (PPE), in writing. – (IT) The new EU legislation should increase the harmonisation and integration of the single European investment market.

Higher coverage levels are needed to strengthen consumer protection, create more confidence among investors and enhance financial stability in general. In the long term, it is essential to harmonize funding and investor compensation schemes within the Union. We are of the opinion that the coverage of such investor compensation schemes should also be extended to firms authorised to carry on any investment services in any form.

We are in favour of full harmonisation – as opposed to minimum harmonisation – to provide those involved with stronger protection and to avoid the risk of arbitrage between Member States. We also believe a risk-based principle should be included in the directive in question, whereby the contribution to a scheme shall be determined for each member on the basis of the degree of risk incurred by the firm.

In order to avoid the possibility that some Member States might undersize their funds, the borrowing mechanism should not be launched until all the schemes have sufficient money in their funds; it should not start until all the schemes are funded at target fund level.