LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) – The newly-agreed forum for regulatory cooperation between Britain and the European Union will hold its first meeting on Oct. 19, a senior UK finance ministry official said on Monday.
Britain and the EU had agreed to set up a forum for their financial regulators to discuss issues, but its creation was delayed due to a dispute between London and Brussels over trading arrangements for Northern Ireland which is now resolved.
Brexit has meant that the UK financial sector is largely cut off from the EU.
Britain and the EU finally signed an agreement on the new forum in June, though Brussels has been clear that the forum won’t have any role in decisions about market access for UK financial firms to EU customers.
Richard Knox, a director for financial services at the finance ministry, also told a City & Financial conference that the issue of how EU funds are sold in Britain may be on the agenda on Oct. 19.
“What we are focused on, because it’s part of what makes London a successful global financial centre, is our openness,” Knox said.
This “philosophy” of openness of UK markets is linked back to sitting down with the EU for the first meeting of the forum, Knox said.
Reporting by Huw Jones, Editing by Louise Heavens and Ed Osmond
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