The EU’s current legislative programming procedure has been shown to be too cumbersome and in need of replacement, according to a draft report on the financial crisis. French socialist Pervenche Berès, rapporteur for the European Parliament’s special committee on the financial, economic and social crisis, said the crisis has “clearly highlighted all the limits and flaws in the current system”. In the report, she referred to “insufficient, and, in some fields, non-existent [financial] regulation”.

The 30-page draft report on the “financial, economic and social crisis” saw its first airing earlier today, at Strasbourg, before the European Parliament’s crisis committee.

Berès placed blame for the shortfall on “the present legislative programming procedures”, which focuses “entirely on the Commission”. However, she added, the Council’s role has grown steadily to play a major part in managing the EU’s legislative programmes. She implied the Parliament’s role should be strengthened, calling for a new « contract between the [EU] institutions”.

The former chairman of the Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee found “excessive and immoral profit-seeking by a bloated financial sector » had « a profoundly destabilising [social] influence”.

Members of the crisis committee have until 15 June to table amendments, prior to a vote in committee, in July, followed by a vote, in plenary, at the end of September. Amendments based on political opinions are expected.

In a lengthy section on the background to the crisis, the draft report noted that the bail-out of the banking sector will have cost countries worldwide €650bn. The IMF estimates the direct budget cost to be 2.7% of GDP in the G20 countries, with 17.6% GDP actually being mobilised.