Particularly, a growing number of issues related to cross-border business activities was detected, as a consequence of the ‘freedom to provide services’. Under the Solvency II Directive, once authorised by the home national supervisory authority, insurance and reinsurance undertakings have the right to establish a branch within the territory of another Member State (known as freedom of establishment) or may pursue their business in another Member State (known as the freedom to provide services) without any further authorisation.
To enhance cooperation and communication between supervisory authorities in such situations, EIOPA rolled out cooperation platforms, a new and important tool that facilitates stronger and timely cooperation between national supervisors in the assessment of the impact of cross-border activities and identification of preventive measures. By the close of 2017, nine cooperation platforms were operational, and the benefits of these platforms have been identified for both home and host supervisors.
Furthermore, a wide range of tools such as balance sheet reviews, peer reviews, consistency projects on internal models, participation in meetings of colleges and bilateral engagements with national supervisory authorities continued to be used to enhance the supervisory capacity of national supervisors. F
This year, in the field of oversight, EIOPA will pay specific attention to further implementation of prudential regulation, Solvency II, and conduct of business supervision. In particular, EIOPA will continue to focus on the close interaction with national supervisory authorities, improvements in supervisory practices in the authorisation process and supporting reviews of business models to detect those models posing material prudential or conduct risk.
