Financial Regulation in EU

Within the EU, rules for financial market regulation are created in accordance with the Lamfalussy structure.

The structure is based on three levels of standards. The basis of the concept is a framework directive (Solvency II in the insurance, Basel III in banking), which contains the basic principles and a limited amount of technical details. They are adjusted to the second level by implementing regulation. The third level is other recommendations and standards (mandatory and voluntary) adopted within the European Supervisory Authority (ESA) by various sectoral committees (European Banking Authority (EBA) for banking, European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) for securities market and Insurance and Occupational Authority (EIOPA) for insurance.

These three committees (EBA, ESMA and EIOPA), together with the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) and national supervisory authorities, create the so-called European System of Financial Supervisors (ESFS).