European Network of Credit Unions (ENCU) Advocates for Proportional Regulatory Treatment in Brussels

WOCCU International Advocacy leads effort in front of European Parliament officials and key policy departments of the European Commission

Fourteen representatives of the European Network of Credit Unions (ENCU) last week converged on Brussels, Belgium to share the credit union mission with newly elected officials and advocate for regulatory relief from the European Commission’s Regulation on Financial Data Access (FiDA)— a new framework for access to customer data, and how that data is shared and used across a wide range of financial services.  

ENCU representatives met with several new members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and officials with the European Commission departments responsible for EU policy related to financial service issues.  

Specifically, ENCU representatives are seeking a credit union exemption from FiDA. 

“With the European Parliament’s draft report still subject to discussion, we wanted to make sure our ENCU representatives were able to meet with as many key players as possible to convey the message that an exemption is important for credit unions, and discuss the impacts of other key regulations on credit unions,” said Erin O’Hern, WOCCU International Advocacy and Regulatory Counsel, who led the ENCU delegation.  

ENCU representatives also met with Anne Marie McKiernan, Director of Operations at the Central Bank of Ireland, and Boris Kisselevsky, Head of the European Central Bank Representation in Brussels, for important conversations on the digital euro.  

The ENCU delegation also attended the European Payment Institutions Federation’s (EPIF) 9th annual conference, which featured discussions on the EU’s Payment Services legislation, the digital euro and open finance, and the new EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority.

ENCU members involved in last week’s meetings included representatives of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), National Association of Co-operative Savings and Credit Unions (NACSCU) of Poland, Federation of Romanian Credit Unions (FEDCAR), Estonian Union of Credit Cooperatives (EUCC), North Macedonia's FULM Savings House and the Croatian Association of Credit Unions.