Reinforcing EU financial bodies’ participation in global networks: addressing legitimacy gaps?

As global financial standards have a remarkable impact on EU law, strengthening the EU’s role in global standard setters would increase the legitimacy of the reception of such norms. The European financial agencies (ESAs) should be the obvious candidate to represent the EU in global networks, both because of their composition and because of the powers they are entrusted with. Yet, the limitations to their powers and the very unclear division of competences between agencies and other bodies in the EU financial architecture risk impairing the activity of the agencies in global networks. Moreover, the financial agencies’ external activity could affect the institutional balance of powers within the EU, raising questions of the legitimacy of such external activity. The chapter finds that the body representing EU views in global networks should be subject to reporting obligations and transparency requirements, so that proper accountability instruments are in place.