Solvency II Wire can reveal that the ECON vote on Omnibus II Directive scheduled to take place on 24-25 January 2012, has been postponed until later this year. The delay could postpone the main plenary vote until the summer which may have implications for the rest of the Solvency II implementation timetable.
It is understood that during a preliminary meeting of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) of the European Parliament held this morning (12 January), members decided to postpone the vote until the spring. One of the main reasons for the delay could be that members want more time to address some of the more complex areas of Solvency II, in particular the treatment of long term guaranteed products.
At this point it is unclear what the delay will mean for the plenary vote and more importantly whether this will affect the proposed bifurcated implementation date of January 2013/ 2014.
A spokesperson for ECON confirmed the delay. Details of the new timetable are due on Monday on the ECON website.
Update: 13.1.2012 17:40
A spokesperson for EIOPA told Solvency II Wire, “We do not exclude that the postponement of the vote on Omnibus II Directive may have an effect on EIOPA’s ability to deliver final proposals for Technical Standards to the European Commission, to finalise Guidelines as well as on the relevant implementation efforts of the industry.
“However,” the spokesperson added, “the issue on whether these factors will ultimately amount to an overall delay of the implementation of Solvency II should be seen in light of the future discussions.”
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[...] Parliament website. The vote has been delayed for the second time this year (Solvency II Wire 12 January 2012 & 5 March 2012). A spokesperson for the Parliament said that the date was provisional and could [...]