爱尔兰财政部长超过七年s, Charlie McCreevy was unflinching in his efforts to foster the growth of Europe's most dynamic economy. When European Union partners in the late '90s attacked Ireland's special 10 percent tax rate for manufacturers as an unfair subsidy that was luring jobs away from other countries, McCreevy responded in 1998 by agreeing to set a uniform corporate rate of just 12.5 percent, a move that intensified tax competition within the EU rather than easing it. And in 2001, when the European Commission threatened a reprimand over his plan to cut income taxes, arguing that it would fuel inflationary pressures at a time of fast growth, he bluntly ignored the EU's executive agency and went ahead with the cuts.
McCreevy, 55, swapped his Irish post for one with the EU as commissioner in charge of the Union's internal market last November, but he's lost none of his appetite for challenging the status quo. When the Italian media reported in January that Banca d'Italia had agreed formally with the government to oppose any foreign efforts to acquire Italian banks, the commissioner dashed off a letter to central bank governor Antonio Fazio demanding that he clarify his position on cross-border mergers. The right of investors to buy anywhere they want in the 25-nation EU, regardless of nationality, is a cornerstone of the single market, but Banca d'Italia's perceived hostility had kept foreign banks at bay for years.
麦克里维的干预一夜之间改变了气氛，鼓励荷兰银行（ABN Amro）和西班牙毕尔巴鄂银行（Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Group）分别对安东维内塔银行（Banca antoweneta）和拉沃罗国家银行（Banca Nazionale del Lavoro）发出收购要约。反过来，安东维内塔的出价引发了一系列事件，导致意大利检察官调查有关意大利央行存在偏见的指控。
“决定是否应该有跨境合并，”这不是我的政策，“Plainspoken McCreevy告诉机构投资者在他的布鲁塞尔办事处采访中。亚博赞助欧冠“个人，我认为它将较低的资本成本是良好的。但我的工作是确保银行机构之间没有违法的障碍。”
As his Italian initiative demonstrates, McCreevy has been a forceful advocate of Europe's single market since coming to the Commission. In addition to taking on Fazio, he has lobbied U.S. authorities to get them to accept accounts prepared according to international financial reporting standards for European companies with U.S. listings. He has also set a goal of completing the EU single market for financial services by taking down national barriers, particularly to cross-border clearing and settlement of securities, retail banking and fund management. And, to the delight of bankers and securities dealers, he promises to achieve those goals through market-driven solutions wherever possible rather than by legislative fiat, a welcome change after the raft of new laws enacted during the past five years.
"McCreevy has made a very good start," notes Richard Britton, a Zurich-based consultant on financial services regulation. "Clearly, he has a much more market-oriented agenda, probably reflecting the 'Irish miracle,'" he says, referring to Ireland's surge in growth since the early 1990s.
尽管有雄心壮志，但麦克里维会发现，在布鲁塞尔取得成功比在都柏林要困难得多。例如，尽管荷兰银行（ABN Amro）在意大利进行了干预，但它和BBVA一直受到意大利反对派的阻挠。BBVA上个月放弃了对Lavoro的收购，此前意大利小型保险公司Unipol与盟国累积了一笔阻止性股份。荷兰银行（ABN Amro）76亿欧元（92亿美元）收购安东维尼塔（Antonveneta）的出价上月仅被2.88%的股东接受，但这家荷兰银行目前拒绝认输。上个月底，意大利股市监管者国家社会委员会（Commissione Nazionale per le Societ）宣布，意大利的希望得到了支持à e la Borsa（Consob）暂停了规模更小的意大利人民银行（Banca Popolare di Lodi）的竞购。许多银行家认为，意大利银行获得了意大利银行（Banca d'Italia）的优惠待遇，尽管人们担心该银行资本充足率较低，但该银行还是批准了其收购计划。意大利央行行长法齐奥（Fazio）和意大利首席执行官菲奥拉尼（gianpierofiorani）的电话录音被泄露给意大利媒体后，Consob采取了行动。
Europe's single market for financial services also remains more a promise than a reality despite the passage of more than 20 EU directives over the past five years. Governments have dragged their feet in transforming directives into national law -- only five of the 25 EU member nations had adopted the prospectus directive, designed to allow issuers to tap the European capital markets with a single regulatory filing, by the July 1 deadline, a situation McCreevy has decried as "lamentable." Many laws that are on the books still require agreement on detailed implementing of status by separate committees of EU securities, banking and insurance regulators. The delay in adopting financial services legislation, warns McCreevy, "is going to hamper the efficiency of Europe's capital markets and the vital single passport for issuers."
专员还必须应对敌对的政治环境。今年6月，法国和荷兰的选民否决了拟议的欧盟宪法，使欧洲领导人陷入政治混乱，似乎无法或不愿寻求更紧密的经济一体化。
法国总统Jacques Chirac在他的国家的投票中的失败归咎于在欧盟的经济改革和劳动管制方案上的选民担忧，几年前在里斯本通过。法国公民投票活动的奖班牌是波兰水管工的形象，一个由对手使用的幽灵，以突出对中欧和东欧的低工资工人所带来的法国工作的假定威胁。为了亵渎这种威胁，Chirac与德国总理GerhardSchröder联合起来，反对欧盟的拟议服务指令，这是一项从前任Frits Bolkestein继承的倡议Mccreevy，这将使这些业务成为广告或旅行社可以轻松地提供跨越边界的服务作为制造商兜售汽车或计算机。
The obstruction of EU economic initiatives by Chirac and Schröder "is evidence of failure of leadership at the highest level in member states. They're repudiating the Lisbon agenda," says Peter Sutherland, the chairman of BP and a former EU competition commissioner.
这种策略可能在政治上可以理解，但他们为欧洲带来了巨大的经济成本。今日12欧元地区的潜在增长率在今年年度上涨至每年仅为1.6％，而美国经济合作和发展组织的3％以上。经合组织预测，在未来二十年内，增长潜力将进一步放缓至约1％，在未经严重的经济改革中，经合组织预测。
麦克里维承认，如今的反欧盟政治气候给他的自由经济议程带来了风险，但他誓言将继续努力开放欧洲单一市场。”我不愿意认为公投的结果会导致成员国和欧盟从急需的经济改革中后退。这将是最大的错误，”他说。
与许多欧洲官员一样，麦克里维认为，经济不安全和高失业率至少与反对宪法本身一样，助长了最近全民公决中的“反对”投票。他坚持认为，创造增长和就业的最佳途径是放松市场管制，对国际贸易开放，并采取有竞争力的税收制度。
"International capital flows where it gets the greatest return," McCreevy explains. "Over the past 25 years, the countries that have done the best are the countries that have opened up their economies."
Such a pragmatic, business-oriented approach has long been a McCreevy hallmark. A native of Sallins in county Kildare, McCreevy obtained a business degree from University College Dublin and then qualified as and worked as a chartered accountant. He won election to the Dáil, the Irish parliament, as a member of the ruling Fianna Fáil party at the age of 27.
McCreevy made his mark in the early 1980s by opposing Charles Haughey's leadership of Fianna Fáil, which was tarnished by financial scandals, and by calling for tight budget discipline and the adoption of pro-business policies. His views, seen as radical at the time, became mainstream in 1987 when the Fine Gael government of Garrett FitzGerald negotiated a so-called social partnership agreement with unions, which imposed stiff budget cutbacks and wage restraints. That agreement sowed the seeds for Ireland's transformation from one of Europe's poorest countries, with a debt exceeding 100 percent of GDP, into the Celtic Tiger that today boasts the EU's second-highest per capita income.
McCreevy说：低税，欧洲的课程是Twofold，Pro-Bustical政策可以刺激增长，但各国政府只会在他们的背部到墙壁时进行痛苦的改革。“除了一件事之外，我们不会达到一半的改革：我们凝视着深渊，”他说。“我们在1987年被破产，绝对破产，我们采取了行动。”不幸的是，他承认，目前尚不清楚法国和德国这样的国家的经济困境是否已经足够令人满意地强迫政治家来行动。
1992年，当阿尔伯特雷诺斯取代了哈耶作为总理时，他将麦克雷维耶为社会福利部长命名。“我不是在寻找受欢迎的人。我正在寻找拥有专业知识和勇气的人，追随他们的想法，”雷诺兹说。
五年后，新总理Bertie Ahern Tapped McCreevy是财务部长。他的第一个挑战之一是解决欧盟对爱尔兰的10％的制造商税率的争议，远低于当时标准的营业税率38％，戴尔和英特尔公司这样的诱饵公司很大程度上投资国家。德国和法国认为，税收突破使爱尔兰成为一个不公平的优势，使其允许它剥夺职业并破坏税基。McCreevy不是通过将制造商的税率提升到大陆级别，作为法国和德国想要的，但通过逐步逐步逐步阶梯税率为12.5％。斯洛伐克和波兰等许多新欧盟成员遵循了爱尔兰的榜样，并将公司税率削减到不到20％。
McCreevy在2001年的2001年削减了12亿英镑（13亿美元）的个人所得税，促使欧洲委员会威胁谴责。然而，远非扇动通货膨胀，税收在增长的一部分减缓时支持经济，这是全球放缓的一部分。
In Brussels, McCreevy has shown no hesitation in taking on the Italian establishment. Both Italian and foreign banks have chafed for years under the authority of Banca d'Italia, which supervises banks and must approve any stake larger than 5 percent. The perception that Fazio, the central bank's governor for life, would oppose a foreign bid had deterred offers.
“这是单一市场的最明显的挑战，”U.K.的金融服务管理局前银行业前负责人David Woods说。但既不是博克斯坦也没有他的前任马里奥·蒙蒂，曾经敢于挑战中央银行的立场。
今年1月，有报纸报道称，法齐奥、总理贝卢斯科尼和财政部长西尼斯科（Domenico Siniscalco）会晤并同意维持外国在意大利银行持股15%的有效上限，此后情况发生了变化。这些报道促使荷兰银行首席执行官里杰克曼·格罗宁克（Rijkman Groenink）和BBVA董事长弗朗西斯科·冈茨（Francisco Gonz）加入á莱兹，写信给麦克里维，委员会官员说。荷兰银行有意增持意大利北部主要银行安东维内塔（Antonveneta）12.7%的股份；BBVA一直在考虑增持该国第六大银行Lavoro 14.75%的股份。
McCreevy对外国银行的困境是同情心的。委员会只有提交正式投诉，才能采取法律行动，但银行不愿意公开挑战Banca D'Italia。“你想要的最后一件事是与监督机构的糟糕关系，”麦克雷维文章。因此，据欧盟规则，他向Fazio写信给Fazio要求中央银行澄清其无法禁止的外国收购态度。
That move emboldened Groenink and González to act. On March 30, BBVA launched a E6.4 billion bid for Lavoro, and the following day ABN Amro made a E6.3 billion offer for Antonveneta. "I don't think either one would have made the move" if McCreevy hadn't intervened, says Vittorio Pignatti, head of European mergers and acquisitions at Lehman Brothers International in London, which is advising ABN Amro. "It took a fair amount of courage from the two banks."
Both bids have met with determined opposition from local rivals. Banca Popolare Italiana, a small lender with a market capitalization of just E3 billion, quickly built up a stake of nearly 30 percent in Antonveneta and replaced the board, which had endorsed ABN Amro's offer. In May, Italiana launched a counteroffer of shares, bonds and cash totaling E7.5 billion after it was ordered to bid by stock market regulator Consob, which found that Italiana had been acting in concert with allies, including Italian financier Emilio Gnutti. Prosecutors in Milan and Rome have opened investigations into Italiana's stake-building, looking into, among other things, allegations of market rigging and issuing false documents. Prosecutors in Rome also questioned Francesco Frasca, Banca d'Italia's top regulator, about whether he abused his position in overseeing the bank bids.
该调查在上个月晚些时候，当检察官扣除了意大利人及其盟友持有的安东尼披亚股份，以及在Banca D'Italia偏见的窃听谈话的成绩单被泄露，泄漏了艾利亚人。据意大利新闻报道称，成绩单有Fazio告诉Fiorani，通过后门进入Banca D'Italia进行会议，并让州长告诉执行他的投标在任何公告之前被批准。Fazio没有评论，但Banca D'Italia坚持认为它恰当地行动了。尽管如此，泄漏引发了Fazio从一些政治家和主要Banca d'Italia联盟的领导者辞职。新闻报道还提示COSOB暂停Italiana的出价90天，而ABN AMRO设法在Antonveneta的一个非凡股东大会上恢复友好董事会。
与此同时，在Lavoro，BBVA由一名意大利保险公司Unipol Assicurazionion ovexed，该公司在Lavoro收购了9.99％的股权，以保护其对银行保险合资企业的利益，然后与一些意大利盟友合作，以弥补一项阻止股权46.95％。Unipol打算为其他地区提供优惠。
然而在Antonvene上演的法律挑战ta, the two cases highlight the need for a level playing field across the EU for foreign and domestic bidders. McCreevy has complained that while Italiana was building its stake in Antonveneta, ABN Amro was prevented from buying shares until Banca d'Italia assessed the Dutch bank's suitability to run an Italian bank. Such delays can put foreign bidders at a disadvantage.
“荷兰银行和BBVA来得正是时候，”委员会内部市场董事会银行部门主管帕特里克•皮尔森（Patrick Pearson）表示这给委员会和成员国提供了一个测试案例，说明我们为什么需要更明确的规则。”
McCreevy已订购委员会官员，以向欧盟银行指令提出修正案，甚至是外国和国内投标人之间的竞争。该修正案将包括监管机构可以向投标人申请的精确要求清单，并将保证对外国和国内球员的平等待遇。它还将寻求促进监事之间的更多相互承认，以便在一个欧盟国家设立的银行不会面临另一个国家的竞标。银行修订将于2006年初推出，官员预计将于今年年底通过。
Although Brussels authorities express frustration over the attitude of Italian regulators, they note that Italy's UniCredit has faced no regulatory obstruction in its E19.2 billion offer for HVB Group, Germany's second-largest bank. That deal, coming after Spain's Grupo Santander bought U.K. mortgage bank Abbey National for £8.9 billion ($16.4 billion) last year, suggests a growing acceptance of cross-border banking mergers in Europe. Italy's impediments look more and more like the exception, rather than the rule.
McCreevy的其他主要目标是为金融服务完成真正的欧盟单一市场。欧洲仍然是许多行业的国家市场拼凑而成，特别是对于零售金融服务，尽管自欧盟于2000年推出其金融服务行动计划以来的所有立法。成员国正在采用欧盟指令，许多人正在拖动他们的脚执行指令的详细规则仍然是欧洲证券监管机构委员会等欧盟监管机构撰写。
考虑在可转让证券或UCITS III中进行集体投资的第三个指令。旨在在2003年制定的法律，管理欧洲共同基金的E4.7万亿，旨在扩大资金可以投资的资产范围，并使基金管理人员更容易在泛欧的基础上运营。尽管野心和现实之间的差距可能很大。法国和西班牙监管机构已起草实施规定，允许货币市场基金只购买国内商业纸。行业管理人员认为这是对当地公司的加强流动性的公然尝试。
"We are just appalled at the way the transposition proposals have been amended in France and Spain," says Clifford Dammers, head of regulatory policy at the International Capital Market Association, a Zurich-based trade lobby. The association wants the Commission to throw out such restrictions before adopting final rules next year.
McCreevy表示，他的主要推力将是确保现行法律适用，并且他承诺废除那些不履行其目标的人。任何新举措必须首先经过严格的监管影响评估，以了解立法是否值得努力。麦克雷德·员工主任，除非你绝对不得不，否则你显然不想带出更多的东西。“姿态在欧盟上鼓掌。“这种方法非常好，但没有人知道在实践中是否会遵循这条线，”欧洲议会和金融服务论坛负责人的芬兰议员，融合了立法机和行业高管。
最大的问题涉及麦克里维确定为他最优先考虑的领域：资产管理和清算与结算。上个月发布的一份委员会资产管理绿皮书提出了几个目标，其中包括解决有关Ucits基金合格资产的争议，简化通知程序，允许基金经理跨境营销基金，这可以在现有Ucits立法下完成。但是，基金业的一些目标，包括促进跨国合并和允许基金经理从几个国家的投资者那里汇集资产，可能只有通过新的立法或对现有法律的修正才能实现。
"We agree with the Commission that a lot can be done without new regulation," says Steffen Matthias, director of the European Fund and Asset Management Association, a Brussels-based trade lobby. But in the long run, he adds: "We want to have better legislation. We want to have cheaper, more flexible solutions."
缺乏泛欧化的清算和结算系统仍然是跨境证券投资高成本的最大因素之一。两年前，由Unifortune Asset Management负责人Alberto Giovannini领导的行业小组确定了一系列障碍，以实现高效的跨境清算和结算。障碍的范围从平凡的障碍，例如不同的开放时间和各国的公众假期，例如，缺乏安全的共同定义。
委员会是在预期立法的监管影响评估中。官员说Mccreevy希望市场，而不是布鲁塞尔，强迫协调的步伐，但到目前为止，国家清算系统在消除障碍方面取得了很少的进展。
"There is no question, in my opinion, that some regulatory intervention will be needed," says Giovannini. He worries that the fallout of the French and Dutch referenda on the EU constitution will continue to stall progress on streamlining cross-border clearing and settlement. "If people think that Europe is disintegrating, they will not spend a lot of money to
发展泛欧交易后服务，“他说。
这对Mccreevy来说是一个挑战。而且他毫无疑问地抓住了头脑。