An independent report strongly demonstrating the need for the completion of the single market for financial services in Europe has been published today.
The report was commissioned by the European Financial Services Round Table (EFR), a group made up of the chairmen and chief executives of many of Europe's leading insurers and banks. It was published today in preparation for the Barcelona summit.
The research suggests that completion of the single market would create substantial benefits for European consumers and aid economic growth.
Chairman of the Round Table Pehr Gyllenhammar said: "This report's careful analysis identifies substantial benefits for European consumers, emphasises the economic importance of making further progress to remove barriers to choice and competition, and highlights the importance of policy-makers tackling these issues swiftly and decisively."
He added: "We in the financial services will play our part in working with the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council to design and implement practical reforms required to complete the vision of a single European market."
Research was led by the Institut fur Europaische Politik (IEP) and the Zentrum fur Europaische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW). The full report is available at www.zew.de/erfstudyresults/.
