European financial services update

The new European Commission took up office on 1 December having laid out a number of promises in order to get approval from the European Parliament. President Ursula von der Leyen has stated that her European Commission will be geopolitical, and not one to shy away from the challenges of today.

Her political guidelines focus on six headline ambitions for Europe:

1. A European Green Deal
2. An economy that works for people
3. A Europe fit for the digital age
4. Promoting the European way of life
5. A stronger Europe in the world
6. A new push for European democracy. 

At first glance, no-one could disagree with these ambitions even though some of them are ambiguous. However, what really matters for business is what will underpin these ambitions. In order to get European Parliamentary approval for her Commission, von der Leyen focused more on the social, environmental, climate and consumer protection, somewhat to the detriment of the economic pillar. 

Our attention will be turned to how Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis delivers an economy that works