Today, the European Parliament has prepared the next European Council to be held in Brussels on 15 and 16 October. The debate with the French Presidency and the European Commission was dominated by the concerns about the financial crisis which will also be at the core of the summit.

In his speech, European Liberal Democrat Leader Graham WATSON, stated: "What we have witnessed is not the failure of the market economy. Rather, it is the excesses of unfettered, ineffectively-regulated markets. The greed of individual bankers, traders and short-sellers is certainly to blame but so too is the failure of governments to ensure transparency and honesty in their dealings. The world economy has become less Adam Smith, more Cincinnati Kid."

We must now consider the case for a pan-European Financial Services Authority to maintain order and transparency within and between financial institutions   

Graham WATSON

In a view to the summit, Watson said: "Europe needs coordinated and consistent policies to stem the flow of financial losses, and establish the transparency and good practice needed to prevent future woes. It is at moments like this that our Union is defined. We expect from Europe's Leaders a collective response".  

Watson concretised: "We must now consider the case for a pan-European Financial Services Authority to maintain order and transparency within and between financial institutions. And the European Council should also ask whether the EU budget might be used to allow the European Investment Bank and the EU Investment Fund to give credit guarantees for small businesses."

Wolf KLINZ, ALDE-coordinator on the committee for Economy and Finance, remarked: "The European house has 27 rooms, and the roof is on fire. Instead of strongly cooperating at the European level, everyone tries to exstinguish the fire in his own room."

Klinz also referred in his speech to a workshop on the financial crisis that the ALDE group had organised already in February and in which it analysed, together with expert speakers, the situation and made proposals for its solution. The PDF file of the documentation is available here