Britain files suit against EU over short-selling rules

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Britain has filed a lawsuit against the European Union in a last-ditch bid to thwart giving new European financial regulators the power to ban short-selling shares against London's will.

It is the second time in a year that the government has filed legal papers against the EU - an extreme measure which experts say reflects growing alarm among British lawmakers about the UK's declining say in EU matters and loss of regulatory sovereignty.

Britain's finance ministry has lodged papers at the European Court of Justice seeking legal clarity about powers that will give the European Securities and Markets Authority the power to ban or restrict short-selling across the 27-member bloc, a government official said.

It argues that the new rules, due to take effect in November, will give ESMA undue influence and is citing a half-century old landmark case about the balance of institutional powers within the first incarnation the European Union.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/06/01/uk-britain-regulation-shortselling-idUKBRE8500Q320120601