South East MEP in talks with US Congress on financial crisis

2.26.35pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 28th Aug 2009

Sharon meets with the US Congressional Delegation

South East MEP Sharon Bowles has been meeting with a delegation from the US Senate for talks on financial legislation in response to the Financial Crisis.

Sharon met the delegation from the Senate in her capacity as Chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. The delegation included Senator Richard Shelby who is the leading Republican on the Senate's Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

Sharon and the US delegation discussed transatlantic attempts to restructure the global financial system and escalating government debt. Other items under discussion included regulation of the hedge fund industry, derivatives, changes to international accounting standards and tax evasion.

Sharon Bowles: "I was pleased to meet with the senators this morning and we had a constructive discussion. While intergovernmental co-operation is important, it is also essential that legislatures like the European Parliament and the US Senate communicate better because they are at the sharp end of negotiations.

"In the financial crisis, transatlantic co-operation is essential. We need to work closely with the US to ensure that regulation is consistent and that we are not establishing divergent systems. Finance is a global industry and the solution must be global.

"The EU is the world's biggest single market and we will need to be involved in any solution to the global crisis."