Members of the European Parliament are set to quiz the proposed new EU finance head about her plans to work towards an “international baseline” for sustainable finance, according to a leaked document seen by IPE.
Maria Luis Albuquerque and the other Commissioner-designates for the new political cycle are due to face questions from MEPs in hearings starting on 4 November, after which the entire team of new Commissioners will be put to a vote by simple majority.
The European Parliament session for these hearings and the vote is expected to be held in November, with the new Commission then taking office in December.
Albuquerque is expected to be quizzed on the project of developing a ‘Savings and Investments Union’ and sustainable finance, two key parts of the job description given to her by Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Specific questions ask about her plans to “work towards an international baseline for sustainable finance to increase interoperability and effectiveness of sustainable finance standards across jurisdictions”, or if she considers that the current sustainable finance disclosure framework (SFDR) helps retail investors.
The EU is typically seen as a leader in sustainable finance, having already established a comprehensive legislative framework that includes the SFDR, Taxonomy Regulation, and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), but the latter takes a wider-ranging approach to sustainability reporting than the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). Certain forces within the EU think the CSRD is an overreach, imposing too much of a burden on companies.
The Commission has been considering revising the SFDR, although the market is divided about certain next steps.
MEPs also want to know Albuquerque’s thoughts on whether investment products marketed as sustainable should adhere to minimum criteria.
As for concerns relating to the Commission’s goal of overcoming capital markets fragmentation, MEPs are set to ask Albuquerque about her vision and concrete steps for developing a Savings and Investments Union, including to what extent they will take into account recommendations made by various high-profile reports over the previous months.
According to the leaked document, she is also due to be asked what steps she will take “to design a simple and low-cost saving and investment product in the Union to ensure an appropriate level of protection for retail consumers and investors, and to increase capital markets participation”.
The Savings and Investment Union concept was put forward in a report by Enrico Letta earlier this year, with the former Italian prime minister saying the initial priority for the next EU political cycle should be to mobilise private capital in support of the digital and green transition.
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