EU leaders agree financial rules – with concessions to Britain

EU leaders have agreed in principle to tougher regulation of the financial sector but have made an important concession to Britain which was objecting to giving cross-border agencies power over national ones.

France and Germany hoped to side-step this thorny issue, raised principally by Britain, which is anxious to protect the independence of its huge financial services industry in London.

Ireland, in a change of direction and breaking from supporting Britain’s views in this area, firmly supported the demand for tighter regulation, including the creation of three pan-European bodies with powers over national regulators in certain circumstances.