Det er let! Bare skriv under på vores løfte for at udtrykke, at du vil stå sammen med de vælgere, som kræver et finanssystem til fordel for befolkningen og planeten!
10 år efter det sammenbrud, finanssektoren skabte, fremstår reglerne for markederne stort set uforandrede. Regler, som skulle have reduceret faren ved finanssystemet er blevet droppet, forsinket eller fortyndet. De er sket gennem indsættelsen af en hør på hele 1.700 lobbyister, som repræsenterer banker, investeringsfonde og forsikringsselskaber. Deres formål er at fremme sektorens interesser, snarere end at få finansmarkederne til at tjene offentlighedens interesser. Gennem hele perioden er omfanget af spekulation begyndt at sige voldsomt igen, hvilket øger risikoen for et nyt økonomisk kollaps. I stedet for at arbejder for samfundets intersser, yde støtte til den påtrængende økologiske og sociale omstilling og håndtere opgaven med at stoppe klimaforandringen og den øgede ulighed, er finanssektoren drevet af destabiiserende kasino-aktiviteter. Vigtigst af alt, så har finanslobbyen blokeret for de forandringer, der skulle have forhindret os i at gå bevidstløst mod en ny finanskrise. For at komme af med denne trussel mod borgernes velvære, opfordrer vi kandidaterne til at skrive under på dette løfte.
Hvis jeg bliver valgt til Europa-Parlamentet, lover jeg at støtte og tage initiativ til tiltag, som sikrer, at parlamentet arbejder for et mere stabilt finanssystem, som tjener Europas borgeres interesser ved at være mere retfærdigt, bæredygtigt, og demokratisk. Med henblik på dette, vil jeg gøre følgende:
1) Modarbejde den overvældende indflydelse, finanssektorens lobbyister nyder, ved at sikre, at deres samspil med parlamentarikere og andre beslutningstagere begrænses.
Repræsentanter for finanssektoren er lobbyister, ikke rådgivere. Derfor skal kontakt med dem underkastes restriktioner.
2) Sikre at når møder og udveksling af information finder sted, sker det i fuld åbenhed.
Grundlæggende oplysninger om alle møder med lobbyister of andre stakeholders skal være offentligt tilgængelige.
3) Sikre en stærk tilstedeværelse af andre synspunkter end finanssektorens, når der diskuteres reformer af finansmarkederne.
Høringer, rådgivende organer og konferencer bliver udnyttet til at lave lobbyarbejde, hvis det ikke vedtages eksplicit, at der skal være en balance mellem forskellige synspunkter, herunder at der er en stærk repræsentation af civilsamfundsorganisationer og akademikere.
4) Afvise formel tilknytning og medlemskab af klubber eller foreninger, som forbinder finansindustrien med beslutningstagere.
Hverken politikere eller embedsmænd bør slutte sig til eller deltage i aktiviteter i klubber eller foreninger, som er oprettet for at lobbyister kan få lettere adgang til dem.
5) Arbejde for stærkere regler om interessekonflikter og svingdøre for embedsmænd og politikere i alle EU-institutioner.
En længere ‘afkølingsperiode’ og restriktioner på aktiviteter er nødvendige for politikere som kommer fra eller går til finanssektoren.
Change Finance koalitionen, som består af organisationer fra hele Europa, arbejder for at afsløre og forhindre skadelige aktiviteter fra finanslobbyen. Vi opfordrer til at følge en politik på finansområdet for borgerne, som stræber efter social retfærdighed, bæredygtighed og demokrati, herunder
Disse reformer vil forblive en illusion, hvis vi ikke gør op med finanslobbyens store indflydelse på de politiske beslutningstagere.
Over 1.700 lobbyists work for the financial sector in Brussels, and they have a clear focus: to increase their profits and prevent laws that challenge them. For example, in March this year, they lobbied hard against rules that would make financing fossil fuels more expensive.
Financial lobbyists persuade politicians to vote for weak laws that give them permission to speculate, including on companies, housing, food and public services. This results in workers earning less, consumers paying more and rich people getting higher returns, leading to growing inequality. Many attempts to secure sustainable models for society are undercut by the financial sector.
What’s more, the risks it takes could lead to another monumental financial crisis. Experts warn that such a crisis will be worse than the collapse of 2008, which cost billions of euros in taxpayers’ money to bail out banks. People lost their jobs and homes, and many countries were immersed in austerity policies.
If we roll back the power of the financial lobby and prevent it from dominating decision-making spaces, such as the European Parliament, we can build a healthy and democratic future for Europe and its citizens.
In Brussels, powerful financial companies are able to put their interests first on the agenda. The lobbyists that represent big banks and investment funds use all kinds of arguments to persuade decision-makers that there is no need for measures to change the financial system, whose primary function is their benefit. In 2018, only 31% of EU bank assets were lent to households and non-financial companies, while almost 70% were devoted to speculative activities.
Vast lobby budgets have allowed the financial sector to deeply penetrate each of the EU institutions and prevent strict financial reforms. It has been very difficult for the voice of civil society to be heard and the public interest given priority. Given this imbalance, the financial lobby needs to be kept at bay to protect the integrity of democratic decision-making.
Changing the financial system is about changing the way money is handled and who gets the best financial services. Most of this is decided in EU institutions, of which the European Parliament plays an important role.
To set society on the course towards equality and sustainability, we urge the next set of parliamentarians to create another playing field: one that will prevent those with big money from dominating big politics, and one that will secure other voices in the debate.
In the new parliamentary session, we need parliamentarians to take ambitious measures to roll back the power and overwhelming influence of the financial lobby, which prevents the interests of many European citizens being served.
The crash of 2008 led to a public outcry against an out-of-control financial system. Millions of European citizens lost their jobs, with many losing their homes. At the same time, big banks were bailed out with hundreds of millions of euros of taxpayer money. The resulting eurocrisis led directly to cuts in public services and welfare in EU countries. People demanded far-reaching reforms to prevent such a disaster ever happening again.
Since then, the financial lobby has fought tooth and nail to prevent fundamental change. It defends the interests of the big banks, investment funds and insurance companies, and it does not see a problem with a financial system tailored entirely to make quick profits. Using all available inroads to power, they have managed to prevent effective reform.
Examples:
As a result of the lengthy campaign conducted by well-connected, well-funded lobbyists, what we see in the EU is a financial system fraught with the same injustices and dangers as in 2008. We are sleepwalking into the next crash.
The biggest banks are still so big they are bound to be bailed out with public money, should they fail. For that reason, a European fund (ESM) is now capable of lending 500 billion euros under the Banking Union to bailout banks. Even the kind of speculative financial products that were blamed for igniting the crisis in 2008 have been allowed to reappear under the Capital Markets Union.
There is still a long way to go before we have reached the goal of financial markets at the service of society – a financial system that can secure and strengthen welfare, sustainability and social justice. The key lesson from the past decade is that for us to succeed with those objectives, we need to roll back the power of the financial lobby.
Climate change will dramatically alter our economies, new activities will rise, old sectors will die. The financial sector is not ready for such drastic changes. Researchers put their potential losses in the tens of trillions. For our over-indebted, over-connected, fragile financial system the scale of such losses will prove catastrophic. Once again governments will be called on to bail them out.
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