MEPs from the Economic and Monetary Committee and the Legal Affairs Committee discussed with experts the conclusions of the collapse of the German Wirecard concern and the shortcomings in the company's supervision, the European Parliament announced in a press release. Committee members called, inter alia, to introduce new audit rules.

According to the European Parliament, the expert side was made up of Dan McCrum, an investigative journalist from the Financial Times, prof. Katja Langenbucher from Goethe University Frankfurt, spokesman for the German Association for the Protection of Securities Property, Daniel Bergdolt, and member of the Bundestag and the Wirecard Inquiry Committee Matthias Hauer.

"In their questions, the members of the committee focused on changes to be introduced in the supervisory and regulatory systems due to technological innovations in the financial sector. In their opinion – in order to break the monopoly created by the four major companies – the audit rules should be changed, and the conflict of interest should be resolved, shorten audit firm rotation and introduce joint control. Many MEPs called for strengthening EU supervision and more effective implementation of existing regulations, in particular those relating to banking supervision and anti-money laundering," it was written.

The need to create a quality system that would make it possible to collect information about enterprises from the EU – including those based on new business models – was addressed by the members of the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament. In their opinion, smaller shareholders should be able to initiate joint legal actions. Committee members also asked about the rules for collective redress at the EU level, as well as how audit firms can be held directly liable for gross negligence. MEPs stressed that the whistleblower directive is being implemented at the national level. However, they questioned whether the process should be accelerated and whether the level of protection provided for therein was sufficient.

(PAP)