Here is the map of simplifications coming from the EU for the financial world

The EU's interventions on financial and investment issues constitute a considerable mass, with separate legislation on many topics (as can be seen from the survey made by Aipb, the association of Italian private bankers, for Plus24). The recovery from the summer break will accelerate because the Danish presidency will be able to put its own stamp on the Union's activities during this period. The wide range of measures that can be seen from the graphics (which, moreover, only affect the investment world, not other aspects of the financial world) is very fragmented. As Bocconi University's Marco Ventoruzzo explains: "There is a patchwork approach and a lack of coherence, European financial regulation often proceeds in a piecemeal fashion, without any broader work that would bring together the various elements of the discipline into a more coherent whole, but also ultimately simpler for operators. A leap forward and the ability to think on a unitary text would be desirable".

Before the summer, Plus24 had mentioned how this autumn it expects a resumption of two very important dossiers: Ris (retail investment strategy) and Fida (financial data access) on open finance. Antonella Massari, secretary general of Aipb, explains: 'Great attention should be paid to the Savings & Investments Union (Siu), from which we hope for greater regulatory harmonisation and a more advantageous tax regime for those who invest with a long-term perspective. On the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS), we hope that the role of professional advice will be enhanced, a fundamental lever to guide investors in an informed manner. With regard to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, we consider it essential that private banking should not automatically be seen as synonymous with greater risks, in light of the traceability of transactions and the fiduciary relationship with clients'. But Fida is also seen as an intervention that can bring innovation and personalisation of services, but requires adequate safeguards for both market participants and customers to protect the quality of services and data confidentiality.

From the point of view of organic texts, Roberta D'Apice, Legal and Regulatory Affairs Director of Assogestioni, points out the importance of a single European Asset Management regulation. Despite the harmonisation achieved at the regulatory level, there are still divergences in national interpretations, supervisory practices and operational requirements, which undermine the fundamental objectives of a single European capital market: "It would be advisable to initiate a process of organic reorganisation and codification of European asset management regulations based on principles of simplification and stability of rules, without reopening the political agreements already reached and without generating new burdens for operators".

Another point that arises is that of greater uniformity of supervisory practices by national authorities. There has been much talk in recent months of a 'super Esma' that would somehow become a single European authority. According to Assogestioni: "In the world of asset management, the strong centralisation of supervisory functions in a single European authority risks introducing additional complexity, with negative impacts on the operational efficiency of operators and the flexibility of supervisory action. This is why Assogestioni believes it is more efficient to strengthen coordination and regulatory convergence between national authorities; to improve the sharing and interoperability of data between competent authorities; to define a common European framework for the supervision of managers' non-EU activities; and to strengthen enforcement mechanisms".

Since Ris, one of the European Commission's stated aims is to remove unjustified barriers to retail investors' access to asset management products.