EU Policies to Support Financial Integration

This chapter shows how achievement of financial integration process requires an effective interplay between market forces, collective action within the market to overcome coordination problems, and action by public authorities. It focuses on the initiatives pursued by the EU public authorities to foster financial integration. The chapter reviews the major institutional steps that have been taken since the Treaty of Rome to foster financial integration, such as the Single Market Programme, the Financial Services Action Plan and the Economic and Monetary Union. It presents the main European regulatory measures that have been taken over the past years in the different financial sectors. The chapter discusses that the arrangements for regulation and supervision of these sectors are presently undergoing major changes. It demonstrates the major impacts of community initiatives on the process of integration. The chapter concludes with the most recent legal initiatives to foster financial integration.