CREEPING TO A EUROSTATE

This news leaves me worried.

EU states have agreed to three pan-European watchdogs to oversee controls for banks and insurers.

The UK is not part of the Euro, it is not subjected to the fiscal straitjacket that Ireland finds itself in.

Yet, it has apparently agreed - or rather unelected Civil Servants have agreed - to these bodies.

The EU has graciously allowed day-to-day supervision of individual companies and markets to remain with the national regulator yet the new EU bodies will develop harmonised rules and approaches to co-ordinate their actions..

Why? I mean why should yet another layer of regs be lumped onto a system that is already struggling with the anti-markets rhetoric from the EU already?

Under the deal, the European Central Bank president will chair the ESRC for the first five years, and there will be a review of the legislation after three years.

Oh good, because the ECB has done such a great job balancing all the disparate economies under its watch.

The new watchdogs will have no direct supervisory powers, other than for credit rating agencies operating in the EU.

No complaints about that.

And here's the carrot:

MEPs have also dropped their demand that the new watchdogs are all based in Frankfurt: instead they will be split between London, Paris and the German city.

Hah, one of the big three markets in the World was going to be ignored? Pathetic.

And here's the stick:

The watchdogs will have some additional powers in “emergency situations”, however, and may temporarily ban or restrict certain financial activities if these threaten the stability of the EU’s financial system. But “emergencies” will be called by the member states, rather than the European Commission or parliament.

Ah, additional powers and what would they be exactly and what constitutes an emergency and how do member states call it? Majority vote? France kicking its toys out of its pram?

The watchdogs have no power except in emergency situations - so what is the point of them? As always politicans look to further layers of powers and regulations rather than looking at what went wrong.

Was there a need for greater co-ordination two years ago? No, not in my opinion.

Greater communication yes but we are not in the Euro, or the Dollar, our cycle is at a different point to many in the Euro zone and we are meant to be sovereign in issues of tax, regulation and UK markets. It is up to the Bank of England and the Government to decide what actions, where and when, should be taken in the UK, not Brussels.

My major concern is that this could be used as the basis of sucking us in fully to the Euro-state. Eventually the watchdogs will get some proper teeth then our supervisory bodies will become subsumed into a greater Euro-regulator.

Once that's done, where goes the markets?

Once that's done, where goes fiscal responsibility?

Once that's done, who's accountable to the British voter?

Once that's done, where's your lines in the sand Dave?
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