Coventry and North Warwickshire Euro MP Christine Oddy will be playing a key role in a round table discussion next week on the future of financial services such as banking and insurance which are becoming increasingly international.

The meeting in Brussels on Wednesday (2 December) will be discussing how the industries should be regulated as they become more international in their approach and British companies seek more business in mainland Europe.

Ms Oddy will be there in her role as vice-chair of the European Parliament's Intergroup on Financial Services, an all-party, multi-national group of MEPs who have an interest in the subject.

Among the questions the group will be considering is how European laws can be made more effective in allowing financial services to be sold across national borders and the protection which should be given to customers.

Ms Oddy said:

"Financial markets have been opening up for a number of years which means that British banks and insurance companies will have a great opportunity to increase the amount of business they do in other European countries. We must now ensure we have the sort of regulations which encourage the growth of international business while protecting the consumer against the small number of companies which are unscrupulous or dishonest."