Other “tricks” are being devised by the Cypriot authorities to avoid fines of thousands of euros, due to the late transposition of European directives into national law.
During yesterday's discussion in the Committee of Finance of seven harmonizing bills regulating the cooperation of supervisory authorities with companies in the financial sector, it was stated that the Commission had sent a reasoned opinion on the two pieces of legislation (the second stage of the infringement procedure), until 10/1/20. The bills improve the proportionality of the legislation, as previous directives did not take into account the substance of the companies involved, their size and the risks they take to determine their capital requirements.
READ ALSO: Seven harmonizing bills for banks or Eurofight
For the five bills, the Republic had to be harmonized by 28 December 2020. In fact, on the 3rd of the month, the Commission sent a warning letter (the first stage of the infringement procedure). In order for the Republic to avoid hefty fines, the need to separate the bills was put on the table. According to a representative of the Legal Service, the two bills for which the reasoned opinion was received should proceed separately. As he said, in this way the provisions that should be urgently promoted for voting in the Plenary will be isolated in separate bills, while the committee will have time to examine the other bills. The Ministry of Finance agreed with this proposal.
The members of the Finance Committee expressed their dissatisfaction because the package of bills was not accompanied by a report. Due to the narrow time limits in the Parliament, two other harmonizing bills were submitted in relation to the insurance and reinsurance works, without the Legal Service carrying out the required legal-technical control.
