In the summer of 2010, some Members of the European Parliament noticed that they had become inundated with requests to meet representatives of the financial industry. At the same time, they were dealing with ever more technical financial legislation coming through Brussels in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008.
This group of 22 MEPs became concerned that an asymmetry of lobbying could lead to undemocratic outcomes as reform proposals were altered by the industry lobby on their way to becoming law. They therefore launched a cross-party call for action in July 2010, which become known as the “Initial Call for a Finance Watch”.
Their petition found strong support in Brussels and beyond. In the next five months it gathered more than 160 signatures from officials and elected representatives from a wide range of political parties and Member States in Europe.
In December 2010, the MEPs funded a six-month position to investigate whether a new, independent body could be created to improve the way civil society’s voices were represented in the legislature on matters of financial reform. This led to more than 120 meetings with representatives of civil society and other organisations and eventually to a set of concrete proposals for Finance Watch.
Finance Watch was registered on 28 April 2011 as an Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif (non–profit international association) under Belgian law and held its founding General Assembly in Brussels on 30 June 2011 to elect its Board and appoint a Secretary General (see press release).
