FERMA calls upon Belgian Presidency to amplify risk management in efforts to strengthen competitiveness and bolster preparedness

FERMA’s Contribution to the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU addresses European competitiveness, the green transition, crisis response and cyber resilience

Brussels, 31 January 2024 – FERMA has looked to the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union to deliver on its agenda priority of enhancing competitiveness, while positioning efforts to transition to a greener economy, enhance overall crisis preparedness, and bolster cyber resilience at the forefront of its activities.

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Releasing its paper, “Protect, strengthen, prepare and what it means for risk managers”, FERMA focused on four areas of its work that correspond to the Belgian Presidency’s agenda, highlighting the central role of the risk management community in each.

• Strengthening our competitiveness – FERMA stands in support of the Belgian Presidency making competitiveness one of its six high-level priorities–managing risks is vital to remain competitive.
• Pursuing a green and just transition – FERMA is committed to contribute to EU efforts in pursuing a green and just transition – managing the risks of this transition will be paramount.
• Enhancing crisis preparedness and responses – FERMA looks for opportunities to exchange with the Belgian Presidency on how to bring the expertise of its network to the EU-level.
• Fostering cyber resilience – FERMA supports the Belgian Presidency’s ideas to i) review gaps in EU Cyber Policy and ii) pursue a joint-approach to active cyber protection.

Innovation will be a core aspect of Europe’s ability to strengthen its competitiveness. In its paper, FERMA highlighted the need for “good, affordable risk-transfer solutions” that would enable enterprises to take the risks necessary to deliver on their innovation ambitions.

The Federation also called for further efforts to address the regulatory burden on organisations, stating “simplifying the regulatory stack to facilitate the competitive operation of enterprises in Europe is crucial”, while also urging the Belgian Presidency to increase data access by improving upon the proposal for a Framework for Financial Data Access (FIDA), a move it believes has the potential to boost the competitiveness of the (re)insurance sector.

Addressing the “legislative push towards a greener, more socially responsible economy”, FERMA looked to the Belgian Presidency to “rely on a risk-based approach to sustainability requirements”.

Finally, FERMA emphasised the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach to managing cyber risk and endorsed the Belgian Presidency’s commitment to achieving “active cyber protection” through a collaborative and proactive strategy.

Highlighting the need to focus on cyber security and resilience in a digital society, FERMA noted the critical function of cyber insurance. “A sustainable cyber insurance market requires public support on both ends of the spectrum – large-scale systemic exposure and SME exposure – and FERMA can positively contribute to the dialogue and to building bridges.”

FERMA also called upon the Belgian Presidency to integrate cyber risk management and cyber insurance into its review and gap analysis of EU Cyber Policy.

Commenting on the paper, Charlotte Hedemark, President, FERMA, said: “FERMA believes risk managers have a vital role to play in enabling enterprises to respond effectively to the multifaceted crises they currently face. We urge the Belgian Presidency to recognise this and encourage them to work closely with the risk management community to address the priority issues of competitiveness, the green transition, crisis response and cyber resilience, and to ensure the levels of protection, strength and preparedness that are required.”