UK must engage MEPs to make its voice heard

If the influence of Europe, or more specifically the EU, on the UK insurance market is set to grow further, why do so many in the market turn their faces away from Europe and its most powerful institutions?

Too often, the UK insurance market's relationship with Europe seems to be entirely reactive.

While the recent visit to Brussels by representatives of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Insurance and Financial Services was a success, it also highlighted some real concerns about the lack of engagement with the legislative process.

It seemed to be that almost all the organisations that made any attempt to lobby in Europe had not taken on board one of the most significant changes in the EU of the last few years, namely that the European Commission and the European Parliament are now equally responsible for making laws in the EU. All of the Members of European Parliament with whom the group met - regardless of party or country - were critical of the UK financial services communicative efforts.

The UK insurance lobbying organisations in Brussels prefer to talk to the bureaucrats of the Commission - very worthy people but only part of the European power equation. This ignores the power of MEPs, which is now outstripping the power of backbench MPs at Westminster.

Civil servants are eminently reasonable people, but are rarely given to telling you what they really think of you. Politicians are an altogether rougher breed and, too often, people are frightened off because of that. This is a grave mistake in the new Europe. It does not help that the chair of the key committee in the European Parlia-ment is a French MEP who is strident, opinionated and frequently totally unreasonable, but that is the nature of the beast. Running away from them it not an option.

They are keen to listen, they want to hear from the insurance industry and many of them are sympathetic to it and the vital role it plays in the modern economy. Quite simply, there is no excuse for the industry moaning that it feels mugged by the latest missive from Brussels. It should have been in there influencing it from day one.