Finance-Watch

Tuesday, july 6th, 2010

Développement durable
Des eurodéputés réclament un « Greenpeace de la finance »
http://www.developpementdurable.com/politique/2010/07/B5175/des-eurodeputes-reclament-un-greenpeace-de-la-finance.html

Wenesday, july 2th, 2010

Libération
«Il n'existe pas de contre-pouvoir face aux banques»
http://www.liberation.fr/economie/0101644742-il-n-existe-pas-de-contre-pouvoir-face-aux-banques

Thursday, june 30th, 2010

Euractiv
EU needs 'Greenpeace of finance', says French MEP
http://www.euractiv.com/en/pa/eu-needs-greenpeace-finance-says-french-mep-news-495563?utm_source=EurActiv+Newsletter&utm_campaign=af65702a23-my_google_analytics_key&utm_medium=email

Monday, june 28th, 2010

France Inter (France)
Editio un apolitique de Thomas Legrand: " Contre-pouvoir aux lobbys de la finance"
http://sites.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/chro/edito/

Thursday, june 24th, 2010

L'Humanité
Un appel à un «contre-pouvoir» financier
Des eurodéputés lancent un appel transpartisan pour une riposte citoyenne face au lobbying bancaire.
L'initiative de vingt-deux parlementaires européens tombe à pic. Au moment où, en France, l'affaire Woerth-Bettencourt s'emballe, révélant les soupçons de conflit d'intérêts entre la fonction de ministre du Budget et l'emploi de son épouse comme gestionnaire de la plus grande fortune de France, des députés européens de neuf pays (dont la France, l'Allemagne, le Royaume-Uni, le Portugal ou encore la Grèce) et de cinq groupes sur les sept que compte le Parlement européen – PPE (droite), Libéraux, Verts, PSE et Gauche unitaire européenne (GUE) – lancent un « appel transpartisan » pour dénoncer le lobbying des banques et des marchés financiers sur les pouvoirs politiques. Ils invitent à la création d'un « contre-pouvoir » indépendant de ces acteurs, capable de fournir des contre-expertises à l'instar du travail mené par les syndicats face aux organisations patronales dans le domaine social, ou les organisations non-gouvernementales en matière écologique ou de santé publique. ..

Alternatives Economiques (France)
Contre-pouvoir au lobby de la finance
Comment contrebalancer l'influence politique des acteurs du monde de la finance ? En créant un contre-pouvoir associatif capable de promouvoir une véritable régulation des marchés financiers, propose un appel lancé par une vingtaine de députés européens.
http://www.alternatives-economiques.fr/contre-pouvoir-au-lobby-de-la-finance_fr_art_633_49845.html

Wenesday, june 23th, 2010

Aujourd'hui (le Maroc)
Appel à la création d'un «Greenpeace de la finance» :
http://www.aujourdhui.ma/economie-details76622.html

Tuesday, june 22th, 2010

Les Echos (France)
Des eurodéputés appellent à la création d'un "Greenpeace de la finance"
http://www.lesechos.fr/info/finance/020619095809-des-eurodeputes-appellent-a-la-creation-d-un---greenpeace-de-la-finance--.htm

France Inter (France)
Pascal Canfin, invité de "Tous azimut", à 6h45
Créer un contre-pouvoir au lobby des banques?
Lien à venir

Le Point.fr (France)
Appel à la création d'un "Greenpeace de la finance"
http://www.lepoint.fr/economie/appel-a-la-creation-d-un-greenpeace-de-la-finance-21-06-2010-468773_28.php

Franfurther Rundschau (Germany)
http://www.fr-online.de/in_und_ausland/wirtschaft/aktuell/2772888_Kommentar-Ohnmacht.html

Frankfurter Rundschau (Germany)
Hilfos gegen die Finanzlobby
http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2010-06/banken-lobby-eu-trichet

Zeit Online (Germany)
http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2010-06/banken-lobby-eu-trichet

Wissen.de (Germany)
EU sorgt sich um Demokratie
http://www.wissen.de/wde/generator/wissen/services/nachrichten/ftd/PW/50131276.html

Heute.de (Germany)
EU-Parlament warnt vor Lobby-Ubermacht
http://www.heute.de/ZDFheute/inhalt/28/0,3672,8080700,00.html

Märkische Allgemeine (Germany)
Finanzmartk: Die EU - eine Marionette der Banken?
http://www.maerkischeallgemeine.de/cms/beitrag/11828405/492531/Die-EU-eine-Marionette-der-Banken-finanzmarkt.html

Ort News (Germany)
Finanzreform: EU-warnt vor Lobbymacht
http://www.orf.at/?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.orf.at%2Fticker%2F372838.html

Kurier.at (Germany)
Finanzreform: EU warnt for Lobby-Macht
http://kurier.at/wirtschaft/2010635.php

Euractiv
Pascal Canfin : «Il faut un Greenpeace de la finance»
http://www.euractiv.fr/pascal-canfin-greenpeace-finance-interview

L'Echo (Belgique)
Appel pour une contre-expertise face au monde financier
http://www.lecho.be/debats/carte_blanche/Appel_pour_une_contre-expertise_face_au_monde_financier.8930506-2339.art

Monday, June 21th, 2010

BRUXELLES (AFP) - Les députés européens appellent à créer un "Greenpeace de la finance"
http://www.la-croix.com/afp.static/pages/100621101315.o02ztjmt.htm

Monday, June 21th, 2010

La Tribune
Vingt-deux députés européens appellent à un contre-pouvoir au lobby bancaire
« Nous élus européens en charge de réglementer les marchés financiers et les banques, constatons tous les jours la pression exercée par l'industrie financière et bancaire pour influencer les lois qui la régissent ». 22 députés européens ont décidé de signer un appel pour dénoncer « l'asymétrie entre la puissance de ce lobbying et l'absence de contre-expertise » et le « danger pour la démocratie » qu'elle représente. Les députés, parmi lesquels Pascal Canfin , Pervenche Berès et Jean-Paul gauzès, enjoignent donc la société civile (ONG, syndicats, universitaires, think-tanks...) de créer une organisation non gouvernementale capable de développer cette contre-expertise sur les activités menées par les banques, assureurs, hedge funds sur les marchés.

Monday, June 21th, 2010

Financial Times Deutschland
EU sorgt sich um Demokratie
Exklusiv Die Macht der Bankenlobby sei so groß, dass die Volksherrschaft in Europa in Gefahr gerät, warnen EU-Abgeordnete, die für die Regulierung des Finanzsektors sorgen sollen .
http://www.ftd.de/politik/europa/:dominante-finanzindustrie-eu-sorgt-sich-um-demokratie/50131276.html

Monday, June 21th, 2010

Call for a finance watchdog

       "For the first time 22 Members of the European Parliament in charge of regulating banks and financial markets have launched a transpartisan call criticizing the asymmetry in the representation of interests resulting from the intensive lobbying efforts undertaken by the financial industry on the one hand, and the lack of independent counter-expertise from the part of the civil society on the other.

        The call, which can be found from Monday www.finance-watch.org, is being launched by MEP's coming from 9 countries (France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Greece, Luxemburg, Italy, …) treating the key texts on financial regulation that are currently being negotiated on the European level. These are notably the directives dealing with the regulation of credit rating agencies, private equity and hedge funds, derivatives and bankers' remuneration as well as the directive on the establishment of a European agency for the regulation of financial markets.

        The MEP's having signed the call are members of 5 of the 7 political groups sitting in the European Parliament (Greens, EPP, ALDE, GUE/NGL)."

Pascal Canfin (Greens), initiator of the call, responds to three questions:

Why did you launch this call?

In the first place to create greater awareness in the public opinion on this risk for the quality of democracy.

As far as social policy is concerned, employers association as well as trade unions can effectively make their voices heard and influence legislation that is being devised in parliament. In policy-fields such as environmental policy and public health, the lobbies of the business community compete with well-staffed NGO's that have been able to develop a strong expertise. As regards financial regulation, however, there is currently no civil-society organization that is really able to counter the very active and well-funded lobby of the financial industry. This situation represents a danger for our democracies. We fear that in the absence of a competent counter-expertise from civil society, we run the danger that either politicians will not push for the reforms that are necessary to tackle the challenges in the domain of financial regulation or that the political responses put forward by politicians will be mostly driven by emotions and populist reflexes. The MEP's that have signed this call are not in agreement necessarily on the measures to take to guarantee a more stable financial system but the signatories all wish that the debate on financial regulation should be of a high quality.

Doesn't that call actually signify a defeat for the MEP's, since you are claiming that the European Parliament cannot pursue its work in good conditions?

No, this is not the case. We develop our own expertise independent from the financial industry and work as hard as we can. But as MEP's we are simply taking notice of the fact that there is an asymmetry between the strong influence of the financial sector industry and the weak influence of civil society organization in the debate on financial market regulation. Moreover, the proximity that sometimes exists between the political elites and representatives from the financial industry further accentuates this disequilibrium. The arguments of the financial industry hence are sometimes given a greater importance by politicians than they deserve.

And now, what will follow?

Firstly, as many parliamentarians as possible have to sign the call! All the MEP's as well as national MP of the EU Member States are invited to sign the call on the website www.finance-watch.org.
In a next step, we are going to meet with existing civil-society organisations in order to help them create a sort of a “Greenpeace for the financial sector”. The goal is to contribute to the establishment of an NGO that, staffed with people that have worked in financial markets, can develop a real counter-expertise to the lobbies of the financial sector industry and inform the wider public of the issues at stake in the regulation of financial markets. In order for this happen, such an NGO should be politically independent and naturally also financially independent from the financial sector community.