Letter from Benoît Lallemand

Dear Friends and Members,

Thanks for your help and support during 2023 – a year which saw Finance Watch celebrate its 13-year anniversary and welcome 3 new members, reaching a total of 110 members in 21 European countries.

This was a very busy year for the organisation, with the production of many key deliverables and the pursuit of important advocacy efforts:

• On Sustainable Finance: the “Finance in a hot house world” report was widely covered by the media and helped buttress our advocacy outreach on climate risk issues.
• On Retail and Inclusion: Finance Watch organised a hybrid event on personal insolvency with key participants from the EU Institutions and academia.
• On Stability and Supervision: the #NoMoreCrises campaign was launched, urging legislators to finalise the post-crisis “never again” financial reform agenda.
• On Public Finance: the report “The debts we need: Reinforcing Debt Sustainability with Future-Oriented Fiscal Rules” was published, which explored the interactions between European financial markets and sovereign debt and proposing reforms to the European economic governance framework.
• On Digital Finance: an online event on the advent of the Digital euro was organised, offering participants a deep-dive on the potential creation of the new currency.

This is but a taste of what Finance Watch accomplished during the year: I encourage you to read through the report and find out more about what the organisation has covered during 2023.

I am also happy to share that 2023 saw a continued strengthening of our financial situation, as we maintained our budget at its highest level ever.

This was a year in which Finance Watch strengthened its position and reputation, making it ready to face the challenges ahead as we look toward the next year and prepare for the outcome of the EU elections.

We remain grateful for your continued support.

Benoît Lallemand
Secretary General Finance Watch