EU Executive Proposes Raft Of New Financial Rules

The European Union's executive arm proposed a raft of measures on Wednesday to make financial markets and institutions safer for investors.

The worst financial crisis in decades has helped tip the 27-country bloc's economy into a downturn and push up unemployment, sparking a radical rethink of how markets and banks are regulated.

"Our message is clear, we must send a strong signal to our citizens, businesses and the global community that there is a way out of this crisis," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference.

The measures are in line with a draft of the plan obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.

They range from tougher bank capital rules to streamlining supervision, more transparency in derivatives markets and proposals to ensure bank remuneration policies do not encourage excessive risk-taking.

The measures will need backing from the European Parliament and EU governments to become law.