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 Jiří Šindelář
Deputy Chairman of FECIF
Are the regulators finally showing common sense?
During FECIF´s prestigious conference last week in Brussels, I started seriously thinking that after all, European regulators might be gaining some common sense in their thinking. Quite a heretical thought for a classical liberal, is it not? But when I heard MEP Mr. Markus Ferber talking about the PRIIPs KID being wrong, I could not help myself. He did not use these very words, of course, but the sheer positive effect from him being able to admit that it was not fit for purpose overwhelmed me.
It needs to be said that most of the regulators´ speeches that we hear all the time are not so amenable to my thinking. An example would be the speaker from the Commission itself, who rather vigorously defended recent regulatory developments. His main argument was that “the market is better than before”. Well, one could hardly find a better example of post hoc fallacy. Is the market really better "after regulation, and therefore because of regulation", as the translation from Latin states? How about the enormous efforts of firms, innovators and clients to make products cheaper, more transparent, flexible and more suitable for demanding and changing consumer needs? In my opinion, no regulation ever led to an innovation on its own. To be fair, on the other hand...
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