A crisis is a terrible thing to waste

Karel Lannoo, chief executive, Centre for European Policy Studies

The EU seems to be incapable of drawing the necessary lessons from the financial crisis. In its proposals on financial supervision, it is attempting to accommodate the demands of most member states, without implementing a truly integrated system of financial supervision. The core of its proposals for European supervision places a huge responsibility on the colleges of supervisors for cross-border banks, as if this model has not proven its complete inadequacy over the last few months. If Europe is serious about tackling the crisis and wants to be seen as such, it needs to make proposals for a European system of financial supervisors, not a network. This means empowering a strong centre which can, following the principle of subsidiarity, effectively and unequivocally act on behalf of the European interest and police national supervisory authorities.