Osborne Charged With Standing Up to EU By Christopher Wakem, Financial Law Consultant, Lightbringer Solutions 30 January, 2014 As Europe gears up for the Ecofin Summit, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury George Osborne has been tasked with putting a stop to European encroachment on London. Critics are concerned that the UK has been giving up its independence of financial regulation after it was defeated in the European Court of Justice over short-‐selling rules. While the UK had tried to challenge the European Securities and Markets Authority’s ability to go over the national regulator’s head in prohibiting short-‐selling, the ECJ rejected the claim completely. George Osborne has expressed Britain’s dissatisfaction with the EU’s treaties, warning that UK could quit the union if changes aren’t made. However, many Londoners worry the UK’s weakness has been revealed by the defeat. And with three additional outstanding finance regulation cases at the ECJ, things could get even more contentious if the rulings don’t go in our favor. Ecofin’s agenda places financial regulation as the number one priority for the week. There are two proposals for the creation of the Single Supervisory Mechanism, a super-‐regulator of eurozone banks. The UK supports stricter restrictions on the banks, but is not in favor of a financial zone that would hurt EU members who don’t use the euro. Christopher Wakem is a London-‐based legal consultant/contractor who has worked in the independent bar, private practice, and in-‐house sectors. He has obtained law degrees from the University of Sheffield and University College. Mr. Wakem has provide advice in a wide array of matters, both contentious and non-‐contentious, through his company Lightbringer Solutions Ltd. Chris has helped companies large and small establish risk management policies, develop start-‐up procedures, negotiate framework agreements, secure insurance coverage, and deal with Anti-‐Money-‐Laundering and Anti-‐Bribery and corruption matters.
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