German MEP on collision course over rating agency

A leading German MEP has refused to back down over his opposition to the establishment of a European credit rating agency.

Thomas Mann was speaking after German chancellor Angela Merkel came out in support of  such an agency, a demand already put forward by Danish Socialist deputy Poul Nyrup Rasmussen.

Mann has tabled an amendment to a report drafted by Rasmussen on private equity and hedge funds calling for any push to create a credit rating agency to be dropped.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Rasmussen, president of the Party of European Socialists (PES), believes an independent agency would introduce “much-needed competition” into the credit rating industry.

Mann is a member of the same centre-right Christian Democratic Union party as Merkel but said he was still fiercely opposed to the proposal and would not withdraw his amendment.

Rasmussen said, “Conservatives in parliament and the commission are on their own in resisting financial market reform.

“Why they are still holding out against sensible reform is impossible to understand. They are certainly not helping the financial markets by pretending it is still possible to escape regulatory action.”

In his report, the former Danish premier proposes a comprehensive set of measures to promote greater financial stability, ensure more transparency and prevent conflicts of interest.

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