"The composition of the professional group producing EU financial regulation as a limit in the EU’s reform potential"
In line with the political sociology approach which construes the involvement of interest groups as one of the key elements of the European integration process, this thesis is an in-depth study of how EU financial regulation is drafted and adopted. The thesis is based on the detailed study of the career trajectories of 461 actors involved in the revision of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), 48 interviews with some of them and other finance and/or EU experts, and hundreds of legislative documents obtained through EU legislation on public access to documentation. It traces in detail all the steps of MiFID’s revision after the 2008 crisis, from the Commission's first consultation and draft to the adoption of EU legislation by the Parliament and the Council and the implementing measures drafted by the European Securities and Markets Authority as well as the involvement of interest groups in each of these steps. This thesis describes the conditions of the production of EU financial legislation. Who are the actors who were involved therein? What types of organisations do they represent and in what proportion? How do they interact with each other? Which factors determine the final content of the legislation? Using theoretical tools of Bourdieu's field sociology, this thesis explores the structural reasons behind the EU’s difficulty in coming up with financial market reforms which correspond to the severity of the problems unveiled by the financial crises of the last 12 years.
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Yiorgos Vassalos holds a PhD in political science from the Strasbourg University. His research focuses on the representation of economic interests in the EU and the role of expertise and revolving doors on the economic policies of the Union. He currently combines advocacy consulting work with teaching in Paris I Sorbonne, Université de Lille and ESPOL. He also co-organises guided tours in the Brussels EU Quarter in the framework of the project « Dark Side of EU tours: exploring Brussels lobbying ».