On October 8, members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs voted 45-13 to confirm Jonathan Hill as the new European Commissioner for financial stability, financial services and capital markets union. Lord Hill’s confirmation vote was held after Committee members took the unusual step of requiring him to reappear for a second hearing.

As financial services commissioner, Lord Hill’s role will be to oversee the development of the European Union’s single market in financial services, and it is expected that much of his initial workload will be directed at implementation of the European Markets in Infrastructure Directive and other post-crisis financial market reforms. In this regard, Lord Hill has indicated his willingness to work cooperatively with his US counterparts to resolve ongoing transatlantic differences on regulatory reform efforts, in particular in respect of derivatives clearing. He has also undertaken to launch a new European “capital markets union” during his term. 

The full Commission, to be headed by former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, must now be approved by a vote of the European Parliament, which is expected to occur on October 22. More information on Lord Hill’s testimony before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs can be found here.