German stock exchange tussle leaves EU supercop deal at risk
Berlin's insistence on carving out major stock exchange from EU-wide supervision has sparked protests from smaller countries.
Europe's financial markets are on edge as Germany's efforts to exempt its national champion Deutsche Börse from future EU oversight threaten a ministerial deal aimed at integrating the bloc's financial markets and competing with Wall Street. Finance ministers are set to discuss the most contentious parts of their countries' positions on Brussels’ market integration and supervision package, or MISP, over the coming days.
The hope is that ministers will sign off on the compromise deal at the ministerial Ecofin gathering on Friday, marking a significant step forward for the EU's 10-year bid to create a U.S.-style capital market. However, Germany's push to exclude Deutsche Börse from central EU oversight could turn dinner into a food fight, jeopardizing the entire deal.
The carveout, which remains in the current compromise position among EU capitals, has sparked protests from smaller countries who feel it would disproportionately benefit larger neighbors. The EU's Three Political Leaders agreed to a "One Europe, One Market" plan in April, investing significant political capital into MISP to turn the bloc into an investment hub.
Securing a deal on MISP this year is crucial for Ireland, which is chairing legislative negotiations in Brussels until the end of the year. The Deutsche Börse issue remains the most contentious, with the carveout benefitting Spain's main stock exchange and another German trading platform. The Belgian government, especially, is not taking the plan lying down, as their finance giant, Euroclear, will move to ESMA supervision while Belgium was shut out of talks among the "E6" supergroup of the bloc's largest economies.
Written by urgent.news from Politico EU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
