Svar fra Kommissionens formand José Manuel Barroso på spørgsmål fraFolketingets Europaudvalgs formand Anne-Marie Meldgaard.(Uddrag fra brevaf 10. januar 2011 som opfølgning på XLIV. COSAC-møde den 26. oktober 2010).The Danish mortgage system has proved very stable during the financial crisis.While some bond markets closed around the world, the sale of Danish mortgagebonds continued without problems, even when the crisis was at its highest inautumn 2008. The crisis provided a strong test that showed that Danishmortgage bonds are just as liquid as government bonds - and that appliesregardless of the bonds' maturity.Can you confirm that the Commission will, in the revision of the CapitalRequirements Directive and in the implementation of the Basel Committee'sproposals, pay the necessary attention in order to ensure the preservation of thefunctioning of the Danish mortgage system?

(Question by Ms Meldgaard, Chairman of the Danish European Affairs

Committee)

The services of the Commission currently working on strengthened bankingprudential legislation are aware of the particularities of the Danish Krone capitalmarket and the Danish mortgage system. The Commission will give dueconsideration to the concerns raised by Danish stakeholders in the context of thefuture liquidity standards.In improving financial regulation and reducing the risk of financial crisis, weneed to fill gaps and address weaknesses in a forward-looking manner, tacklingboth the weaknesses that have been demonstrated in the crisis and those thatcould materialise in the future. Covered bonds and most parts of Europeanmortgage financing have indeed proved resilient in the crisis. We should clearlydraw lessons from this positive experience and preserve the strengths of thesemarkets. That said we must keep in mind that in financial markets, stability cannever be taken for granted, even after long periods of resilience.What would you think of taking another step towards improved cooperationbetween the Commission and the national parliaments? Such an initiative couldinclude:- Greater cooperation on the Commission's annual legislative program -including consultation prior to submission of the program.- Ad hoc joint meetings on major legislative initiatives or proposals whichcause problems in a number of national parliaments?- Better ongoing information on the submission, processing andimplementation of EU legislation.

(Question by Ms Meldgaard, Chairman of the Danish European Affairs

Committee)

I have always promoted the strengthening of the political relationship betweenthe Commission and national Parliaments and will continue to encourage anintensification of our exchanges and contacts. This includes of course possible

ad hoc meetings on major legislative initiatives or proposals, where nationalParliaments feel a particular need for further clarification and discussion.Apart from those areas in which the Treaty already confers new responsibilitiesto national Parliaments, I clearly see scope for a potentially more active role ofnational Parliaments in a number of areas, such as economic governance, and inparticular integrated surveillance in the context of the European semester; thescrutiny of the implementation of the EU budget at Member State level; andtransposition of EU Directives into national law, with a particular focus on thequestion of correlation tables; as well as the Commission's Work Programmeand future programming more generally.On programming, I would like to reiterate the importance of maintaining acontinuous dialogue between the Commission and national Parliaments on theCommission Work Programme. In our view, national Parliaments should beinvolved in the strategic planning process and their voice should be heard alsoupstream, not only downstream. This is why the Commission stronglyencourages national Parliaments to share their views on future legislative andpolicy priorities, and to do so in time to feed into the preparations for the Stateof the Union speech in September and the following Commission WorkProgramme. National Parliaments would thus be in a position to contribute tobuilding a consensus on where the EU should focus its policy for the upcomingyear.In this context, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that theCommission Work Programme provides a helpful overview of theCommission's strategic planning not only for the following year but also for theyears to come, with the current work programme providing a clearer indicationof what the Commission sees as likely initiatives until 2014. This multiannualperspective could therefore be used by national Parliaments as a strategic tool,allowing them to be more aware of what the Commission plans to do and when.On 27 October, the Commission presented its long-awaited response to how wecan revive the internal market, in order to accelerate growth and create morejobs in Europe. Will you explain why you did not even put yourself in charge ofsuch an important project for reforming the internal market?

(Question by Ms Meldgaard, Chairman of the Danish European Affairs

Committee)

The question of the re-launch of the Single Market is not a question about whoshould be on the front stage and who should not. The Commission is a collegiatebody. We adopt all our decisions, together, as a College. I first set out ideas inthis area in my political guidelines of September 2009, but the draft SingleMarket Act which was adopted at the end of October is our common project. Itis the result of an excellent team work. I am fully committed to it, and will work,together with my fellow Commissioners, to ensure a successful next stage in2011.