PensionsEurope has welcomed European Commission plans to retain, not scrap, the revised IORP Directive as part of its 2015 Work Programme.
Matti Leppälä, secretary-general of the European pension association, said he would not have been in favour of the Directive’s being withdrawn at this time.
He added that he expected the European Parliament to appoint a rapporteur next week to oversee all IORP-related negotiations between the Council and MEPs, and that it would have been unlikely for the legislation to be withdrawn now the Council of the EU had agreed on compromise drafts.
“The Council agreement is much better than the EC proposal,” he said.
“We hope the outcome after the European Parliament and all other stages will remain good as well.”
The European executive is set to publish its legislative agenda on 16 December, but a leaked draft seen by IPE last week did not list the IORP Directive among the 80 proposals to be dropped or amended.
Concerns were raised after a November letter by Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and his deputy Frans Timmermans – handed a brief to cut the regulatory burden imposed by Brussels – highlighted IORP II as “under review”.
The Council has since completed its fourth compromise draft of the Directive, and member states last week agreed on a negotiating mandate with MEPs that will see a renewed emphasis on removing the prudential barriers to cross-border pension provision
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