Letter to Commissioner McGuinness: Cooperation on open, innovative and sustainable European financial markets

The Financial Services Committee together with the Sustainable Finance Task Force sent a letter to Commissioner Mairead McGuinness congratulating her on her appointment as European Commissioner for financial services, financial stability and Capital Markets Union. AmCham EU, as a unique forum for discussion and advocacy on regulatory and policy matters relating to transatlantic capital markets and mutually beneficial investment for the EU and US, is a strong supporter of dialogue and cooperation between EU and US financial services authorities. Read the letter here

News
14 Dec 2020
Financial services, Corporate sustainability
Letter to Commissioner McGuinness: Cooperation on open, innovative and sustainable European financial markets

The Financial Services Committee together with the Sustainable Finance Task Force sent a letter to Commissioner Mairead McGuinness congratulating her on her appointment as European Commissioner for financial services, financial stability and Capital Markets Union. AmCham EU, as a unique forum for discussion and advocacy on regulatory and policy matters relating to transatlantic capital markets and mutually beneficial investment for the EU and US, is a strong supporter of dialogue and cooperation between EU and US financial services authorities. Read the letter here

The COVID-19 pandemic presented an unparalleled health crisis, accompanied by unprecedented challenges and economic consequences. Capital markets play a crucial role for the recovery and the transition to a more sustainable economy. Encouraging European policy makers to further promote free flows of capital, AmCham EU’s Financial Services Committee and the Sustainable Finance Task Force outlined key recommendations for the Capital Markets Union, Sustainable Finance, the Banking Union and Digital Finance.

For one, the Capital Markets Union (CMU) agenda should remain a key priority with renewed focus on the creation of open, innovative and sustainable financial markets. Market fragmentation represents an obstacle to cross-border investment and thus to thriving and globally connected capital markets, crucial to the economic recovery. The right signals towards the transition to a more sustainable economy can be provided by the EU’s sustainable finance agenda – capital markets playing a crucial role in mobilising, attracting and activating new pools of investment to drive sustainable innovation. Regulatory certainty and economic stability, evidence-based and data driven policy, and international openness are thus the key priorities of the Sustainable Finance Task Force to tackle the energy and climate transition. Alongside the encouraging and facilitating the adoption of digital business models by financial institutions, the completion of the Banking Union alongside the implementation of the remainder of the Basel package remain additional key areas of AmCham EU.

Related items

News
27 Nov 2025

Highlighting our financial services priorities in Frankfurt and Strasbourg

On Monday, 25 and Wednesday, 27 November 2025, AmCham EU travelled to Frankfurt, Germany and Strasbourg, France to support an ambitious Savings and Investment Union (SIU) that will allow the EU to gain momentum towards more integrated Single Market. In Frankfurt, members met with senior officials from the European Central Bank, Deutsche Bundesbank, as well as the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). Conversations focused on strengthening Europe’s place in the global financial markets and opportunities to streamline regulatory complexities. 

The delegation then continued to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where discussions with MEPs centred on securitsiation, the upcoming market integration package, next steps for the sustainable finance framework, the role of innovative technologies and the future of the digital euro. Throughout the visit, members emphasised the need to deepen Europe's capital markets, prevent further fragmentation, support innovation-driven regulation and foster a globally attractive investment environment that strengthens Europe’s financial resilience. 

Financial services
Read more
Read more about Highlighting our financial services priorities in Frankfurt and Strasbourg
News
16 Nov 2025

Omnibus I: Parliament delivers critical simplification yet overlooks extraterritorial impact

The European Parliament’s adoption of its negotiating position on the Omnibus I package marks a major milestone towards a simpler, more consistent and workable sustainability reporting and due diligence framework for companies operating across the Single Market. The final text, however, fails to reflect the concerns of third-country stakeholders and international businesses over extraterritorial effects.

The framework’s implementation risks creating legal uncertainty for global businesses and conflicts of law in different jurisdictions, thereby undermining the diversification of supply chains and chilling investment in the EU. Limiting the scope of the initiatives to an EU Nexus – in other words, making them apply only to those global supply chains directly linked to the EU market – will be critical to achieving sustainability and competitiveness goals.  

The Omnibus I is part of a wider agenda dedicated to improving the competitiveness of the EU’s economy. The Draghi report clearly outlined the pressing urgency of addressing Europe’s competitiveness challenges as a precondition for the EU realising its wider strategic objectives. Europe must act urgently to strengthen its economy and this can only work with ambitious simplification efforts. This imperative should transcend party political lines.  

As the Omnibus I now enters into trilogue discussions, policymakers must secure a strong mandate to improve the EU’s business environment.

Corporate sustainability
Read more
Read more about Omnibus I: Parliament delivers critical simplification yet overlooks extraterritorial impact
News
21 Oct 2025

Keeping simplification on track

While the European Parliament’s decision to return the first simplification package on the CSDDD and the CSRD to plenary introduces further delays for Europe’s sustainability agenda, recent progress in Omnibus I reflects meaningful steps toward a more proportionate framework. Yet major concerns remain unresolved, as set out in our reaction to the report adopted by the JURI Committee. The extraterritorial reach of both directives risks creating conflicting legal obligations for companies with international footprints. This is not only a matter for US-based companies, but for all businesses with international footprints that may be subject to overlapping or conflicting legal obligations in jurisdictions outside the EU. Read more in the recommendations we’ve set out on what remains to be done if the EU wants to make these frameworks effective and workable for all.

Corporate sustainability
Read more
Read more about Keeping simplification on track