The Future of EU Financial Law

Abstract

The imprint of the major themes of our time is as apparent in the field of financial law as in any other. Obvious examples are the coronavirus crisis, sustainability, the onward march of technology, the unceasing struggle between integration and federalism on the one hand and protectionism and nationalism on the other and, last but not least, the pressure brought to bear by leading geopolitical powers such as China, the United States and Russia. These forces have largely shaped financial law in Europe, especially in the recent past, and will continue to do so in the future.

Where these forces are actually leading us, however, is less easy to predict. It remains to be seen whether all the new European rules and legislative proposals will produce a fully integrated, sustainable and digital European Capital Markets Union and a complete and smoothly functioning European Banking Union. And it is still much too early to gauge whether Brexit will work out well for the EU27.

But one thing is certain: Europe’s tentacles reach deep into financial law. No matter what finance-related topic one studies, whether it be combating money laundering and terrorist financing or issues such as deposit insurance schemes, non-performing loans, the coronavirus crisis or local products such as investment-linked policies and share leasing, one is bound sooner or later to have to deal with EU law. In other words, for practitioners of financial law, the need to deal with EU law is simply a fact of life. As long as the European Union continues to exist, of course.

JEL Classification: G 18, G 21, G 38, K 12, K 15, K 20, K 22, N 20