The Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP) is a key component of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

's attempt to create a single market for financial services. Created in 1999 and to last for a period of six years, it contained 42 articles related to the harmonisation of the financial services markets within the European Union. It was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2004.

Description

The

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

held in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

in June 1998 requested the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

"''to table a framework for action....to improve the single market in financial services, in particular examining the effectiveness of implementation of current legislation and identifying weaknesses which may require amending legislation''". The European Commission responded with five imperatives for action that were agreed at the

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

European Council in December 1998, and the Financial Services Action Plan was issued by the European Commission on 11 May 1999. The cornerstone of the action plan's achievement is the

Markets in Financial Instruments Directive Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 20142014/65/EU commonly known as MiFID 2), is a directive of the European Union (EU). Together with Regulation No 600/2014 it provides a legal framework for securities markets, investment intermediari ...

(MIFID).

References

{{reflist

External links

European Commission, Financial Services Action PlanBank of England, FSAP Overview
European Union financial market policy Action plans