Italy takes a step towards the top of European financial supervision. Council of the European Union has indicated Charles Comport including candidate for the presidency of ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority, choosing him at the end of the meeting of ambassadors from the 27 member states. The Consob commissioner obtained the support of 17 of the 27 countries, surpassing the Danish candidate. Karen Dortea Abelskov, stopped at 10 votes. The designation will now have to be confirmed by the European Parliament before becoming definitive.
Who is Carlo Comporti?
Born in 1966, commissioner of the Consob Since February 2022, Comporti has been one of Italy's leading experts in financial market regulation. With a degree in Economics and Banking from the University of Siena, he began his career at the Italian Supervisory Authority, before gaining extensive experience in European institutions.
In 2001, he was seconded to the European Central Bank and the following year to the European Commission. From 2003 to 2010, he served as Secretary General of CESR, the body that preceded the creation of ESMA, and in 2011, he served as Interim Secretary General and Senior Advisor to the Authority's President. His resume also includes academic experience as a professor of commercial law at the University of Siena.
Giorgetti: "An acknowledgement for Italy and the Government."
The Minister of Economy commented on the result Giancarlo Giorgetti, who announced the news to reporters on the sidelines of question time in the Chamber of Deputies, shortly before the official announcement. "Comporti has been elected to the ESMA; we won. I've been working on it for four months," the minister declared.
While noting that the process is not yet complete, Giorgetti called the EU Council's vote "an acknowledgement of the individual and of Italy," emphasizing the growing influence of the European authority. "ESMA plays a strategic role and is destined to develop into a true European Consob. I am satisfied with today's outcome, which is the fruit of the working method we have adopted since the beginning of the legislature and confirms the renewed credibility of our country and the government in Europe," he concluded.
What is ESMA and the next steps
Headquartered in Paris, ESMA is the European authority that monitors the proper functioning of financial marketsIt defines common technical standards, coordinates national supervisory authorities—including Consob—and monitors risks to the Union's financial stability, with the aim of strengthening investor protection. It also directly supervises certain pan-European operators, including rating agencies and benchmark administrators.
Its weight is set to increase with the progress of the Capital Markets Union, one of the EU's key projects to foster financial integration.
The choice of the Council represents the most politically significant step, but the the procedure is not yet concludedComporti will have to undergo a hearing before the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), which is expected to vote on the candidacy in September. The Council will then formalize the nomination, and if it receives final approval, Comporti will succeed the German. Verena Ross, with the beginning of the mandate fixed on November 1st.
