(1)

Article 3 of the Treaty establishing the European Community lists, as one of the activities of the Community, an internal market characterised by the abolition, as between Member States, of obstacles to the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital.

(2)

Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community requires the Commission, in its proposals on the establishment and functioning of the internal market concerning consumer protection, to take as a base a high level of protection, taking account of any new development based on scientific facts.

(3)

Article 149 of the Treaty establishing the European Community requires the Community to contribute to the development of quality education by encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, by supporting and supplementing their action, while fully respecting the responsibility of the Member States for the content of teaching and the organisation of education systems and their cultural and linguistic diversity.

(4)

Article 153 of the Treaty establishing the European Community requires the Community to promote the interests of consumers and to ensure a high level of consumer protection by contributing to protecting the health, safety and economic interests of consumers, as well as to promoting their right to information, education and to organise themselves in order to safeguard their interests.

(5)

Financial education is essential to ensure that the Single Market can bring direct benefits to Europe’s citizens by empowering them to make informed decisions on purchasing financial services and to understand essential basics of personal finance, as recognised in the Commission communication A Single Market for 21st Century Europe (1).

(6)

The importance of financial education has also been acknowledged in the White Paper Financial Services Policy 2005-2010 (2), the Green Paper Retail Financial Services (3), the Ecofin Council Conclusions of 8 May 2007 (4) and the European Parliament Resolution on financial services policy (5).

(7)

The Commission issued a communication Financial Education (6), which among other initiatives announced the setting-up of a group of experts with practical experience in financial education matters.

(8)

The expert group must contribute to sharing and promoting best practice on financial education and must support the Commission in its actions in the area of financial education.

(9)

The expert group must be made up of individuals having competence and expertise in the area of financial education, representing a broad range of public and private stakeholders.

(10)

The Expert Group on Financial Education therefore needs to be set up and its terms of reference and structures detailed,

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share and promote best practice on financial education;

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advise the Commission on how the principles for the provision of high-quality financial education schemes, contained in the Commission communication Financial Education, are being implemented;

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assist the Commission in identifying any legal, regulatory, administrative and other obstacles to the provision of financial education;

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advise the Commission on how the obstacles identified should be addressed;

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contribute to preparation of the various initiatives presented in the communication on financial education, and to an evaluation of those initiatives planned for 2010.