“Maria Louise Albuquerque will be European Commissioner for Financial Services and Savings and Investments Union, which will be essential to complete our Capital Markets Union and increase our savings and investment,” he announced, this Monday, in German Politics. After Louis Montenegro took Albuquerque’s name to Brussels.
In 2014, María Luis Albuquerque led the finance department of Pedro Basso Coelho’s government. Ten years later, the economist receives the portfolio of Financial Services, Savings and Investment Union from the European Commission, and Ursula van der Leyen is tasked with promoting the Capital Markets Union (UMC) in Albuquerque.
“Maria Louise Albuquerque will be European Commissioner for Financial Services and Savings and Investments Union, which will be essential to complete our Capital Markets Union and increase our savings and investment,” he announced, this Monday, in German Politics. After Louis Montenegro took Albuquerque’s name to Brussels.
Citing his “broad experience” as finance minister on the one hand, and “his vast experience in the private sector” on the other, European Commission President Maria Luis Albuquerque understands that he “would be excellent” in the portfolio. assigned to her.
In a letter to a Portuguese economist, van der Leyen listed the axes of the mission attributed to María Luis Albuquerque, combined with the ambition to elevate the EC to an investment commission.
“To achieve our goals, Europe must unlock the necessary financing for environmental, digital and social transformation. We must be more ambitious in addressing the lack of private capital and the still shallow nature of our markets,” says the German economist in the same letter.
As Commissioner, María Luis Albuquerque, “must unlock a significant amount of private investment, while safeguarding financial stability, ensuring better access to finance for EU institutions and creating better opportunities for citizens to improve their own financial security. With our ambition to be an investment commission.
The person responsible for the European Commission’s Financial Services, Savings and Investments Union portfolio is requested to develop, along these lines. European Savings and Investments Union (including banking and capital markets), to “harness the enormous wealth of private savings in support of the EC’s wider objectives”.
In this sense, the Albuquerque team will have work to do To combat the fragmentation of capital marketsContributes to design Simple, low-cost EU-wide savings and investment productsalong with an assessment of potential tax incentives for them.
Ursula von der Leyen asks to see the new commissioner.Possibility of private and occupational pensions Help EU citizens with their pensions and inject their savings into the economy”.
“I want to Review the regulatory framework He further tasked the former Portuguese finance minister’s team with ensuring financial stability for innovative, fast-growing European companies and startups to finance their expansion in Europe. Risk absorption measures To attract private financing from commercial banks, investors and venture capital.
In the list of tasks given to Maria Luis Albuquerque, van der Leyen asks her team to work “at an international level to ensure that the EU continues to be a world leader in the field of sustainable financing”.
Maria Lewis has assumed a “critical portfolio”.
Following the announcement, Luis Montenegro described the portfolio entrusted to Maria Luis Albuquerque as “vital” to the implementation of the Capital Markets Union.
“I strongly congratulate María Luis Albuquerque for providing an important portfolio for the future of the European economy. It is a great challenge, truly strategic, as the Draghi and Letta reports show”, replied the Prime Minister of Portugal.
“This will be a key sector for the achievement of the Capital Markets Union, encouraging private investment and strengthening European innovation capacity,” he continued.
“Diversification of sources of finance is essential to promote economic growth and investment. This is crucial for the progress and stability of Europe’s social and economic plan, as well as for the Union’s ability to meet the expectations and interests of European and Portuguese citizens,” Montenegro observed.
“Conflict of Interest”
Unsurprisingly, BE and PCP MEPs point to what they see as a conflict of interest for the Portuguese commissioner in charge of financial services, who is moving from the private sector.
According to Caterina Martins, “Maria Luis Albuquerque has problems with transparency, conflict of interests, and is also involved in the privatization of TAP”, indicating an ongoing investigation.
“When he was a minister, he made the financial system succeed against the interests of our country and then, he went to work for the same companies that benefited from the decisions he made when he was in charge of the financial system, and now he is leaving. Those companies have to do this exercise at a European level, which is terrible for Portugal and terrible for Europe”, he continued.
On the PCP side, João Oliveira says that the choice of the former minister “will certainly meet the interests of the financial sector, but it may be difficult to explain in the European Parliament what distance Maria Luis Albuquerque has from these financial interests”. , he concluded by saying, “Looking forward to studying.” [parlamentar] tight”.
Rui Tavares, representing Livre, said that “the basic interlocutor of Maria Luisa Albuquerque will be the big financial lobbies”, arguing that the new commissioner should be heard in Parliament.
“An agricultural portfolio or a housing portfolio that has just been created, or innovation or youth, any of them, in essence, are more related to the problems that affect the Portuguese every day than the financial services portfolio. The fundamental interlocutor of María Luisa Albuquerque will be the big financial lobby. If this already happens, in general, In the European Commission, here, after all, we practically have a commissioner from Goldman Sachs rather than one from Portugal,” said Rui Tavares.
Regarding the Socialist Party (PS), Marta Temido points out “aspects that raise concern and fear” in the “political profile” of María Luis Albuquerque, “recalling the results from the point of view of the Portuguese economic and financial policy. Context , related to formulas that have not been indisputably successful”.
At right, Rui Rocha said the Financial Services and Savings and Investments Union portfolio “fits the profile of Maria Luis Albuquerque.”
On Sega’s side, Antonio Tanger Correa points to María Luis Albuquerque’s “personal and professional potential” for the position. “We think the DAP case weakened it. Although we will give it the benefit of the doubt, we still regret that this situation exists,” he added.
This Monday Ursula van der Leyen presented the proposal for the College of Commissioners in the next institutional cycle (2024-2029).
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”