MEP for South East England and Chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee
Sharon is regularly named by the media and industry as one of the most influential Members of the European Parliament. Her expertise and hard work have received many plaudits.
She is the first Briton and first Liberal to ever chair the Parliament's powerful Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, where she plays a leading role in responding to the Eurozone financial crisis.
Extractive companies (such as mining and logging) will no longer be able to operate in the shadows when the European Parliament votes to ratify tough new rules on corporate transparency.
The vote, to be held in Strasbourg tomorrow (Wednesday 12th June), will conclude nearly a year of EU negotiations between the European Parliament, Council of Ministers, and the European Commission.
Sharon Bowles (ALDE, UK), Chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, on Tuesday welcomed the Commission proposal for rules to facilitate compensation for victims of breaches of competition law. At the start of a meeting with Commissioner for competition policy Joaquin Almunia, Ms Bowles said the following:
Syed Kamall, Sven Giegold, Theodor Dumitru Stolojan, Wolf Klinz, Sharon Bowles
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Text proposed by the Commission
(4) According to Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 July 2002 on the application of international accounting standards, IFRS should be incorporated into Union law to be applied by companies with securities listed on a regulated market in the Union, provided that the IFRS meet the criteria set out in that regulation. IFRS therefore play a major role in the functioning of the internal market and thus the Union has a direct interest in ensuring that the process through which IFRS are developed and approved delivers standards that are consistent with the requirements of the legal framework of the internal market.
Banking 2020: A Vision for the Future (Edited by Steve Tolley)
Introductory speech at book launch by Sharon Bowles MEP
"Steve tells me he chose the 2020 date because by then various measures that have been legislated or are in the pipeline will have come into force.
"To mention a few:
"The major reform on capital - Basel 3 - which comes in via the epic-proportioned Capital Requirements Regulation and Directive (known collectively as CRD4) has several relevant start dates - 2014 for most things through to 2018, by which time we should have the final rules on liquidity and leverage calibrated and running.
At the time of writing this chapter much is afoot in the EU. The text of the Capital Requirements Directive and Regulation (CRD4), implementing Basle lll, has just been agreed. That is one of the legs that is meant to make banking safer with better quality and higher capital buffers. Another of the legs, recovery and resolution planning, which includes details of how to have bail-inable bonds, is under discussion.
Europe's Common Fisheries Policy is set for radical reform after negotiators for EU governments and the European Parliament reached agreement in Brussels at 03.20 this morning.
Supporters of the deal claim that it paves the way for rebuilding Europe's depleted fish stocks and curbing the discard of millions of tonnes of fish each year.
Statistics and their relationship with the sovereign debt crisis, and the steps taken since for stability of the Eurozone, should not be underestimated. Standards of governance can match the standards of statistics as a maximum. Too often the political will has been to undershoot what the statistics reveal.
"Parliament has consistently drawn attention to tax avoidance and fraud since my report in 2008 and that of Benoit Hamon on savings taxation in 2009. Despite this, and despite ambitious G20 statements after the Pittsburgh Summit in 2009, practically nothing happened in the EU. Indeed, most of the driving has come from the US.
Sharon Bowles MEP, Chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, has today welcomed the U-turn from the European Council on greater corporate transparency but has urged them to ensure it comes by the end of the parliamentary mandate next year.
Country-by-Country Reporting (CBCR) is a very simple change in how companies prepare their accounts. However, the impact it could have not only for European tax collectors but also those in the developing world, is massive.
Sharon travelled to Strasbourg for the start of plenary.
At 3.45pm Sharon attended an ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) group meeting, followed by and ALDE ECON (Economic and Monetary Affairs) group meeting at 5pm.
Then at 5.30 Sharon attended an LDEPP (Liberal Democrat European Parliamentary Party) meeting.
MEP for South East England and Chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee
