Jean-Paul GAUZES (EPP, FR), Didier REYNDERS, Belgian Minister, Michel BARNIER, Commissioner on International Trade and Sharon BOWLES (ALDE, UK) speak to the press on the Trialogue on Hedge Funds, in the European Parliament in Brussels.

Brussels

statement

BARNIER, Michel (FR)

financial supervision (T)

REYNDERS, Didier (BE, EC)

GAUZÈS, Jean-Paul (EPP, FR)

BOWLES, Sharon (ALDE, UK)

Trialogue on Hedge Funds: extract from the press conference with Jean-Paul GAUZES (EPP, FR), Didier REYNDERS, Belgian Minister, Michel BARNIER, Commissioner on International Trade and Sharon BOWLES (ALDE, UK)

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, Belgian Minister for Finance, We have for the first time a European Supervision with some capacities for SMA, and to do something with such a lot of firms. We are on the first step for a real European Supervision and it is also the capacity to say that in the future we have some review clause to do more.

SOUNDBITE (French), Jean-Paul GAUZ&#200;S (EPP, FR), rapporteur, This does honour to transparency for fund managers and what we were asking for for capital investments has been achieved so that those working in companies affected would be informed about their fate; and also, to avoid what we noted it has happened in a number of occasions, when funds were taking over the control of a company liquidity.

SOUNDBITE (French), Michel BARNIER, European Commissioner on International Trade, It is the first time that a very major services sector is going to find itself into a framework regulation; and we are bit by bit filling in the framework that we have for Supervision. The fact we are talking about here, the alternative funds and private equity sometimes represents half of transactions on markets.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, Belgian Minister for Finance, You Know that we have a very long discussion on the Council on the private equity funds, but it is normal that we give to the Commission the capacity to examine the situation and maybe to propose some new rule.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sharon BOWLES (ALDE, UK), People do forget that hedge funds managers were actually already regulated in London and there were many other safeguards, so that the ordinary investor could not invest. These were not everywhere and I think it is a good thing that they are now extended to everywhere. So, I don't think that the City should be concerned.