Reforming finance: the EU’s proposals: Divided by a common market

In the first of an occasional series on the reform of finance, we look at the European Union’s proposals

GIVEN its history of financial meltdown and subsequent recovery, Sweden, which assumed the presidency of the European Union on July 1st, is the ideal country to orchestrate the reform of Europe’s financial landscape. Its reputation for levelheadedness will come in handy too. The EU remains riven by two deep divides on the regulation of finance.

The first is an ideological one over the degree of freedom that should be afforded to markets. It pits a weakened and distracted Britain, whose appeal as a financial centre in less troubled times was enhanced by its “light-touch” regulation, against countries such as France and Germany, which feel their long-standing distrust of freewheeling markets has been vindicated. “There is a large body of people who say that the Anglo-Saxon model has failed,” says a person involved in the new regulations. “Now they see the chance to bury it.” Tougher regulations may also peg London back in its rivalry with other European centres such as Frankfurt or Paris. …