Brussels agrees powers to directly tackle British banks

It's not April 1st is it?

The colour coded grades will make all the difference. That's what we were missing before.

Colour-coded grades to reflect different risk levels. Crikey, reminds me of the old Eagle Star Rainbow Personal Pension Plan.

On a more serious note this smacks of yet more EU interference and I cannot believe that an organisation that has failed every audit ever undertaken on it, and also fails to sign off its accounts can possibly lecture private organisations about risk.

Never mind chaps. Even more jobs on EU gravy train.

I doubt this move is intended to solve problems but it may help in identifying them - the recent EU wide stress testing of Banks was also similarly a step in that direction.

The deeper problems of 1) "too big to fail" 2) inter-country lending/sovereign debt eg., German and French banks lending to Greece etc, or 3) of the way in which Icelandic banks grew exponentially and then collapsed - all remain.

At least Europe is trying to do something.

Our government is behaving like a rabbit caught in a cars headlights and is doing nothing. This despite all the loud noises they made prior to the general election and the fact that the public now owns big sharesof many of them.

They need splitting and shrinking and quickly because they appear to be back to business as before.

I'm with Kristopher Heck, it's all in the colour codes. Relax everybody, everything is sorted now....

It seems that the 'problem solvers' are ever-farther away from industry know-how. Presumably there will be lots of intermediary committees formed to liaise with Brussels - finance and employment all solved in one. Ingenious..

To me, this looks as if a Eurocrat has invested with Key Data or similar.

There are other issues that don't appear to be covered in the above article e.g. the purchase of property abroad. Or is that included by implication?

We have all seen sensationalist journalistic television programmes about people who have purchased abroad, only to find out later that their properties contravened local regulations and were to be condemned and pulled down. Or there was to be a major highway constructed next to them and their value (and enjoyment) would plummet as a result.

Movement of labour and of money across Europe was initially welcomed. But we should not miss the fact that there is also a chance to fall foul of local rules and taxes.

And given that the vast majority of Brits expect everyone else to speak English and foreign languages form far too small a part of school curriculae (in my opinion), we are likely to be caught up in local scams and "mis-selling".

Caveat emptor indeed. But if very few actually speak the language, (as seems to be the case), then how do we know that all is (or isn't) as it should be?

It seems to me that someone should be providing an "idiot's guide" to investing in, purchasing property in and moving to every country in the EEC as a minimum.

Or is there already a proper and professionally prepared government publication with examples of every EEC country?

If not, could MDRT Europe perhaps offer some assistance?

Bearing in mind that some people are packing up lock, stock and barrel and moving to sunnier climes without the rabble of the UK parliament, this is likely to become an even greater problem.

The brain drain is gradually being replaced by the tax and pensions drain. But those escaping the current UK government's total madness stand to lose a lot if they get their information wrong.

Or am I just a cynic?

Cynic ? Moi ?

let'e hope they now 'intervene' on the illegal restraints of trade mooted by the RDR and spare everyone's blushes by getting it scrapped

Great, another set of quangos, jobs for the boys, all those in the FSA your new desks await you in brussels. Now dont let the bigger boys pick on you, and remember your lunches. Thats right your favorite, S**t sandwiches....... whats that ?? you dont like bread ? well just eat the filling then ay..

Yet another reason to get out asap

Cynic ? Moi ?