- Critical vote on Omnibus 2 delayed to March 2013
- No clarity yet on length of delay
The European Parliament’s vote on Omnibus 2, due to take place in November, has now been pushed back to March 2013. This latest delay effectively renders it impossible to meet the 1 January 2014 deadline.
Janine Hawes, insurance director at KPMG, commented: “Few industry participants will be surprised with this news. It is safe to say that the industry, as a whole, had all but given up on 2014 as a viable implementation option in any case.
“No reason has been given for the delay in the plenary vote; however it is likely to be to accommodate the forthcoming impact study to assess the effect of the various proposals on the long-term guarantee package. This will take place later this year and the timing of this vote suggests that the trilogue process will now largely be stalled until the results of this study are known. Unfortunately, despite calls for a clear statement on timeline, including most recently by Gabriel Bernardino, chairman of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), no such announcement has been made.
“The challenge now is how quickly the results of the impact study can be assessed and the speed with which an agreed solution can be reached in the trilogue process when it resumes. The new indicative date for the European Parliament’s plenary vote may need to be moved back further to accommodate this.
“The dates for transposition and implementation of Solvency II will also need to be amended again, with a second short ‘quick fix’ directive required. The question that remains is whether this will be a delay of one or two years.
“We therefore repeat our previous pleas for the indicative timeline to be published, so that the entire insurance industry has clarity on when the regime will come into force so the remainder of the process can be managed.”
ENDS
Notes to editor
For further information please contact
Monica Fiumara, Senior PR Manager, KPMG
Tel: +44 (0)20 7694 5674
Mobile: +44 (0)7901 105180
Email: monica.fiumara@kpmg.co.uk
KPMG Press Office: 020 7694 8773
About KPMG
KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and operates from 22 offices across the UK with nearly 11,000 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a turnover of £1.6 billion in the year ended September 2010. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. We operate in 150 countries and have more than 138,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. KPMG International provides no client services.
