EIOPA at 15: Impact by Operating in Supervisory Unity

Esteemed colleagues, distinguished guests, 

On behalf of Fausto Parente and myself, a warm welcome to our 15^th Annual Conference and 15^th anniversary.

It is wonderful to see you all here in Frankfurt as audience and as speakers!

Let me express my special thanks to Commissioner Albuquerque, to MEP and ECON Chair Aurore Lalucq, and of course, to Klaas Knot, former President of the Dutch Central Bank and former Chair of the FSB, as well as all the other speakers.

It is both a pleasure and an honour to see you and to have a good dialogue.

And a dialogue we should have, because a lot is happening outside, and here I do not refer to the weather. 

Already many times I have said in speeches that we are living through an era of profound uncertainty, shaped by intensifying geopolitical tensions, economic vulnerability, technological upheaval, and enormous environmental challenges. Yet, given the start of 2026, this seems to be an understatement. 

Current geopolitical tensions are serious and concerning, and this has an impact on the daily lives of ordinary citizens, on Member States and on the EU. An EU that needs to be more independent, that needs to be more resilient, and that needs to be more digital than it is today.

That is a big task for all in the EU, and the question I ask today is, how can and should EIOPA contribute to this call, so well described by both Draghi and Letta?

This question I want to answer today, but first let’s see where we came from, where we are today, and then what we need to do going forward. 

EIOPA at 15: “How far we’ve come, and how we move forward”

And here I can come to a positive note.

As you know, this year’s conference marks 15 years since EIOPA’s founding, back in 2011, and it is striking just how far we have come in that time.

Over the years, EIOPA has significantly contributed to strengthening supervision in the insurance and pension sectors across the EU – steadily raising the bar in terms of consumer protection, risk assessment, and transparency across products and services.

Our journey hasn’t always been easy. Progress has been incremental, and we’ve had our share of challenges along the way. But that in itself, fits well with the European Union, or in the words of Robert Schuman: 

“Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan, it will be built through concrete achievements, which first create a de facto solidarity.”

Indeed, fifteen years ago, EIOPA was founded in response to the 2008 financial crisis – when the need for stronger, more coordinated supervision in financial services had become nothing less than an existential imperative.

From the very beginning, our focus was clear, to safeguard financial stability and protect consumers against detriment. In practice, this meant working on mutual trust and dialogue within the supervisory community. 

It also meant, in the first years of EIOPA, full focus on the implementation of Solvency II – a framework that placed risk-based supervision at the core of the European insurance sector, with major implications for industry and supervisors alike, and that is celebrating its 10^th anniversary this year. 

When it came into effect, it marked a seismic shift in the way we assess and manage risk. It was about far more than capital requirements. It helped build a new culture of risk management, transparency and accountability across the entire sector. It was a big change, yet, it feels normal today, only ten years later.

Since then, through successive crises – from the Covid-19 pandemic to recurring geopolitical tensions – the insurance and pension sectors have proven their resilience, thanks in no small part to the robust frameworks we have built together.

Beyond Solvency II and prudential supervision, safeguarding the interests of policyholders and pension scheme members has been essential to our mission and central to fostering a healthy, dynamic market, in which we strive to ensure adequate protection beyond national borders. 

In this context, I am pleased to see that the attention for pensions and pension savings has increased significantly. This is essential in an EU that must act now in order to address the pension gap.

I am also glad to observe progress made on the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS), and can say that, since the early days of the IDD, Europe’s regulatory landscape has developed immensely, moving its focus from prudential to also conduct and value for money. 

Yet, our mandate is now so much more than what I would call our traditional role – IDD, Solvency II, IORP – it includes many other legislative initiatives, from the SFDR and ESAP to the AI Act and the IRRD. Through all of these acts, EIOPA has been entrusted with ever-greater responsibility. 

I am really proud to say that EIOPA has been able to deliver on this, and here I fully recognise this was a team effort, as none of this work could have been achieved without the collaboration of all EIOPA colleagues here in Frankfurt, our colleagues in all authorities in the Member States, and all our stakeholders. 

So, I am pleased to see so many of you here today and I want to especially mention my predecessor and first Chair of EIOPA, Gabriel Bernardino, and the past, current and future Executive Directors, Carlos Montalvo, Fausto Parente and Damian Jaworski.  You will be hearing more from them later today.  

Thanks to their tireless contributions, but also all of you, EIOPA is where it is in 2026.

It shows what we are truly capable of, and this is very relevant today. If we want a strong Single Market, if we want to support a strong European Union in a fragmenting world – we need to play our part and work together to deliver on the mandate we have. 

In the insurance and pension sectors, we do have a good starting point. I don’t need to remind any of you of the importance of our sectors. Insurance and pensions are, in many ways, the cornerstone of societal resilience and economic stability. They protect individuals, families and communities from life’s uncertainties. Indeed, without insurance, many businesses would simply cease to exist.

And the EU insurance sector does so, not only for the 450 million citizens of the EU, but also internationally, for some of the global players in insurance are based in the EU, serving consumers and companies around the world. Moreover, Solvency II has been a leading framework for risk-based supervision. 

Yet, more needs to be done and can be done today and going forward.

“Acting with impact”: our strategy towards 2030

With these sentiments in mind, just two weeks ago, we launched our strategy for the next five years. 

An affirmative blend of continuity and ambition, which identifies three strategic areas to help us pursue our goals, including:

• Strengthening the functioning of the Single Market;
• Enhancing market and societal resilience against risks;
• With simpler, bolder and faster supervision.

1. Strenghtening the functioning of the Single Market

Operating in supervisory unity remains at the heart of our approach. 

This means that NCAs and EIOPA’s team in Frankfurt act as a coordinated European supervisory community, collaborating with each other, enhancing convergence in the market and collectively acting on cross-border detriment. 

It also means working with supervisors outside the EU, with a unified collective message on the global stage.

The EIOPA Board of Supervisors has a shared responsibility to foster thriving, consumer-centric insurance and pension sectors across the EU. The cross-border nature of the Single Market makes it essential to operate in supervisory unity and continually strive for greater convergence.

Where needed, a stronger supervisory response and conduct oversight continue to be vital components too, as we must deploy the full range of our powers to address poor value, unfair practices, and risks of exclusion.

Our own approach, moving forward, will be guided by a simple thought: 

“harmonise where possible, centralise where needed.”

• To date, this has meant sharing tools, strategies and input with our NCA partners, from European benchmarks under the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS), data collection and analytics to EIOPA-led stress tests and crisis coordination exercises.
• It also means establishing, maintaining and developing a sound and stable supervisory system, based on transparent, convergent rules that offer the EU a tangible competitive advantage.
• It means recognising that risks are borderless and that EIOPA staff and NCAs operating in unity makes for a strong EIOPA – especially when it comes to ever-intensifying challenges like natural catastrophes and pension gaps, where the risk is too great for any one country or supervisor to tackle alone.
• It means ensuring that companies operating across the Single Market can rely on national supervisors sitting at one table, forming a single authority that fosters efficiency, addresses resource constraints, and enables swifter, more decisive action, particularly on cross-border matters.
• Finally, it means speaking with a stronger, more unified European voice on the international stage; something of growing necessity in these uncertain times.

By acting together, we will still recognise the specificities of individual markets across the EU. 

We remain “United in Diversity”, while jointly striving for more consistent protection for policyholders and pension scheme members, a level playing field for providers and intermediaries, and enhanced trust in the Single Market among industry and consumers alike.

As the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, recently put it:

“Whatever happens in one part of Europe has an effect on us all, and we are only strong when we act together.”

2. Boosting market and societal resilience against risks

Of course, beyond strengthening the functioning of the Single Market as a strategic priority, another objective for EIOPA moving forward is the enhancement of market and societal resilience against risks.

Indeed, when it comes to risks that call for a concerted, European approach, two in particular stand out:

• First of all, across the EU, the already concerning pension gap continues to grow. Demographic trends stand to exacerbate this over time. Today, half of the EU population is over the age of 45, and by 2050, the ratio of working-age citizens to pensioners will fall below 2:1.
• Secondly, when it comes to climate risks in Europe, EIOPA’s own analysis reveals that, between 1980 and 2024, only around 27% of NatCat losses have been insured in Europe. As climate change intensifies and the frequency of heatwaves, floods, droughts and storms increases, this protection gap raises major concerns.

To face such threats head on, it is essential that we act as a community of stakeholders, in which each party has a role to play, from supervisors and governmental institutions to industry and wider society.

For our part, EIOPA will strive to instil greater public trust in our sector by addressing protection gaps and advocating value for money in products and services, for the benefit of European consumers. 

3. Enhancing the supervisory framework and leveraging technology

To achieve these goals – and others – we are committed to simplifying and reducing administrative burden, and making it easier for businesses to operate and innovate across borders; provided that high standards of consumer protection are staunchly upheld.

Ultimately, further Single Market integration will only be made viable through the accomplishment of consistent, convergent initiatives and practices across the EU, as well as a proportionate regulatory framework that remains fit for purpose and reflects the times we live in.

In order to boost societal resilience in a meaningful way, we need to strengthen risk assessment and preparedness, effectively leverage data and technology to detect vulnerabilities, and swiftly respond to emerging risks.

Where possible, we need to deepen cross-sectoral collaboration and data sharing, and work alongside EU and international authorities to address systemic and structural risks. 

Finally, we will also support better regulation and supervision by leveraging SupTech and innovation, using technology to enhance our effectiveness and operational efficiency.

Conclusion

So, dear all, where does that leave us? 

Well, as we reflect on EIOPA’s journey over the past 15 years, we can take pride in what we have achieved together thus far.

We have contributed to more robust and resilient insurance and pension sectors, and a stronger, more stable market in which citizens are better protected.

But our work is far from over.

The challenges ahead – from climate change and digital transformation to demographic decline and a new world order on its way – demand our continued commitment, innovation and unity.

Supervision is, after all, not just about systems, but about people.

It is about ensuring that every European citizen can trust their insurance and pension products.

It is about building a future where our sectors are not just resilient, but also thriving, dynamic, inclusive, sustainable, and fit for the challenges of tomorrow.

As we move forward, let us do so with the same spirit of cooperation, ambition and determination that has brought us this far.

Together, we will continue to protect people and promote a more dynamic, inclusive market, ensuring that EIOPA remains a driving force and strong voice for the insurance and pension sectors globally.

Thank you.