Osborne  Charged  With  Standing  Up  to  EU  By  Christopher  Wakem,  Financial  Law  Consultant,  Lightbringer  Solutions  30  January,  2014    As  Europe  gears  up  for  the  Ecofin  Summit,  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  and  Second  Lord  of  the  Treasury  George  Osborne  has  been  tasked  with  putting  a  stop  to  European  encroachment  on  London.  Critics  are  concerned  that  the  UK  has  been  giving  up  its  independence  of  financial  regulation  after  it  was  defeated  in  the  European  Court  of  Justice  over  short-­‐selling  rules.  While  the  UK  had  tried  to  challenge  the  European  Securities  and  Markets  Authority’s  ability  to  go  over  the  national  regulator’s  head  in  prohibiting  short-­‐selling,  the  ECJ  rejected  the  claim  completely.    George  Osborne  has  expressed  Britain’s  dissatisfaction  with  the  EU’s  treaties,  warning  that  UK  could  quit  the  union  if  changes  aren’t  made.  However,  many  Londoners  worry  the  UK’s  weakness  has  been  revealed  by  the  defeat.  And  with  three  additional  outstanding  finance  regulation  cases  at  the  ECJ,  things  could  get  even  more  contentious  if  the  rulings  don’t  go  in  our  favor.    Ecofin’s  agenda  places  financial  regulation  as  the  number  one  priority  for  the  week.  There  are  two  proposals  for  the  creation  of  the  Single  Supervisory  Mechanism,  a  super-­‐regulator  of  eurozone  banks.  The  UK  supports  stricter  restrictions  on  the  banks,  but  is  not  in  favor  of  a  financial  zone  that  would  hurt  EU  members  who  don’t  use  the  euro.      Christopher  Wakem  is  a  London-­‐based  legal  consultant/contractor  who  has  worked  in  the  independent  bar,  private  practice,  and  in-­‐house  sectors.  He  has  obtained  law  degrees  from  the  University  of  Sheffield  and  University  College.  Mr.  Wakem  has  provide  advice  in  a  wide  array  of  matters,  both  contentious  and  non-­‐contentious,  through  his  company  Lightbringer  Solutions  Ltd.  Chris  has  helped  companies  large  and  small  establish  risk  management  policies,  develop  start-­‐up  procedures,  negotiate  framework  agreements,  secure  insurance  coverage,  and  deal  with  Anti-­‐Money-­‐Laundering  and  Anti-­‐Bribery  and  corruption  matters.