Daily Express

 

Chancellor George Osborne is to endorse sweeping European supervisory powers over banks and financial institutions in response to the economic crisis.

EU finance ministers meeting in Brussels are set to approve three new pan-European watchdog bodies to oversee the banking, insurance and securities markets across Europe.

 

The aim is better coordination of national financial services watchdogs as an early warning signal of any future economic disasters.

 

Mr Osborne has backed the move since taking office, insisting that the new system will still leave day-to-day financial supervision within the UK in the hands of national authorities.

 

But Open Europe, campaigning for EU reforms, said the plan represented a clear shift in power from the UK, giving EU officials a mandate to "interpret, apply and even enforce EU laws at the expense of national regulators", according to Open Europe director Mats Persson.