§ Mr. Tim SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on progress in negotiations in the Council of Ministers on the proposed investment services directive and on the proposed capital adequacy directive.
§ Mr. RedwoodThe investment services directive (ISD) was last discussed at the Council of Economic and Finance 607W Ministers (ECOFIN) on 8 July when we considered a compromise text tabled by the Dutch Presidency. This addressed a proposal originally suggested by France that certain transactions should be confined to "regulated markets" and that details of transactions should be published within specified time limits. No agreement was reached. ECOFIN next meets on 11 November but the Presidency has not made a decision whether the ISD will appear on the agenda. The United Kingdom Government will continue to argue for a genuinely market-opening directive which will enhance the ability of investment firms to do cross-border business within a framework of mutually agreed prudential standards.
The draft capital adequacy directive has not yet been discussed in ECOFIN. Under the Dutch Presidency discussions are continuing in a Council working group, where there remain a number of important issues to be resolved.
§ Mr. Tim SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has received from the European Commission the final text of the insurance intermediaries recommendation; whether he will publish it; and whether he proposes that it should apply to insurance intermediaries doing business in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. RedwoodThe European Commission has not yet published this recommendation. Recommendations are published in the Official Journal in the usual way. Implementation of Commission recommendations is not mandatory. We will however consider its implications carefully, and consult interested parties, once it is published.