Finance Watch has developed a financial reform agenda, calling for the reinforcement of EU financial regulation. Financial market stability must be ensured, and the financial system should serve people and the planet. Additionally, economic governance must be shaped so that investments in our future can be unlocked.

Sustainable consumption and the promotion of the circular economy play an important role in the green transition. Hence, the last legislative period saw a number of legislative initiatives at EU level to combat greenwashing, promote sustainable product design and facilitate access to repairs. These initiatives are also intended to help consumers make better informed purchasing decisions. On 23 April, the EU Parliament adopted the Ecodesign Regulation and the Right to Repair Directive by a large majority.

A study commissioned by AK analyses how the payout on maturity (capital benefit in the case of survival or at the end of the savings phase) and early termination (realisation of the surrender value or deposit value in the case of unit-linked life insurance policies) develop if the following assumptions and scenarios regarding the acquisition costs are used as the basis for the calculations: Commission-free policy with a fee paid by the insurance customer at the start of the contract (Variant 1), Distribution of the brokerage (sales) commission over the whole term of a life insurance contrac

On 28 June 2023, the European Commission published two proposals for regulations concerning the euro as legal tender: Regulation on the establishment of the digital euro (COM (2023) 369) and Regulation on the legal tender of euro banknotes and coins (COM (2023) 364). The two proposals combined are intended to achieve the central goal of de-facto and legal equivalence of the digital euro and euro cash as legal tender.

The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs will soon be voting on two controversial topics: At the beginning of April 2024, a vote will be held on the introduction of the digital euro as a new means of payment. The EU Commission's Retail Investment Strategy, which has received far less public attention, will be put to the vote on 20 March 2024. The AK is calling for improvements for consumers.

In May 2023, the EU Commission presented a proposal for a directive that would make far-reaching changes to the securities and insurance sectors. A core element concerns the reorganisation of inducements, which are common and widespread in financial sales. With this “retail investment strategy”, the EU Commission wants to strengthen confidence in capital markets and promote investments by retail investors in particular.

The proposal for a Regulation on the European Health Data Space is currently being negotiated in trilogue between the EU Parliament, the Council and the EU Commission. AK EUROPA, together with trade unions and other organisations advocating for the digital rights of patients, healthcare professionals, consumers and employees, has sent an open letter to the trilogue negotiators. They are called upon to respect the fundamental rights of European patients.

The proposal aims to clearly regulate access to, sharing and use of personal financial data. By facilitating access to data, the Commission wants to promote innovation and data-based business models in the EU financial sector. These ambitions are inevitably in tension with the fundamental rights to data protection and privacy, which take precedence over purely economic interests.

A ground-breaking agreement was reached in Brussels on 8 December. After 36 hours of marathon negotiations, the EU Parliament, Council and Commission announced the final trilogue result on the Regulation on artificial intelligence (AI).

A proposal put forward by the EU Commission in June of this year provides for the exchange and use of personal financial data by various data users to be re-regulated. The Commission's declared aim is to simplify access to data and promote innovation and data-based business models in the EU financial sector. The Chamber of Labour takes a very critical view of the proposal.