Hedge funds postponement in Council of Ministers welcomed

Brussels, 16th March 2010

Brussels, 16th March 2010 -- Commenting on the decision to postpone the consideration of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers directive at the Council of Ministers today, Syed Kamall, Conservative MEP for London who is Shadow rapporteur on the directive in the parliament said:

"We must not rush into a directive that will damage the whole of the EU's economic competitiveness.

"This directive, as it stands, could reduce the value of millions of workers' savings and pensions and push much-needed investment out of the EU and hamper economic recovery. We need to take a step back now and look at how we can agree a more workable directive.

"This was no time for a hasty compromise at ECOFIN. The European Parliament will not even produce their version of the directive until July, so Ministers should take their time to think through the dangerous consequences of their proposals.

"It is wrong to punish firms that benefit from the investments made by hedge funds and private equity, simply because politicians are looking for a convenient scapegoat for their own regulatory mismanagement of the banking system.

"At the next ECOFIN meeting in June, we need a British government which will not allow itself to be bullied into a compromise which is protectionist and which would harm savers, pensioners and investors in Britain and across the EU. The British government should be prepared to stand up to other EU governments even if we don't have a blocking minority. We need to send a political message that the current text is protectionist, damaging and simply unacceptable."


Contact:

Syed oKamall  +32 228 45792

ECR Press Office

James Holtum +32 473 861762

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