New EU rules making it easier for the British pensions industry to break into new markets across the European Union will be approved by MEPs in Strasbourg on Tuesday this week.

Speaking before the vote – and welcoming a compromise deal to safeguard the use of tax free lump sums – Peter Skinner MEP, Labour's Spokesman on Economic Affairs in the European Parliament, said, "This is good news for the big British pension providers who want to sell their schemes abroad. And for the people who work in financial service centres like London, Leeds, Manchester, Cardiff and Edinburgh this is a major boost for jobs and business." "Britain has one of the most dynamic financial services industries in the world. Breaking down the barriers to give our financial services industry better access to over 300 million consumers in a single European market, will provide a massive boost for British industry." He added, "Nothing has frustrated Britain's leading life assurance, pension and fund management industries more than the failure of the EU to create a real single market in the financial services realm. Many in the pensions industry feel weary at the slow progress." "For years, the financial services sector has been a gaping hole in Europe's single market. And EU Governments with underdeveloped pensions industries have used red tape and bureaucracy to shut out competition. Now we are setting down a timeframe where minimum standards will apply across the board." Welcoming a compromise deal to safeguard the unrestricted use of tax-free lump sums, Skinner added, "We have listened to the industry and to British pensioners' concerns, and with cross party support the Parliament will back new amendments this week to safeguard consumer choice in the use of lump sum retirement payments." On the benefits for consumers of more competition in the pensions industry, Skinner added, "In the face of growing demographic pressure, retirement security for future generations will increasingly lie in a mix of state and funded pensions. The only viable way for EU countries, including the UK, to ensure financial security in retirement is to encourage people to plan ahead and to contribute to occupational pension schemes from early on in their careers." "These EU rules which make the supplementary pensions market more efficient, more competitive and therefore more attractive are, in the long run, good news for generations of British pensioners to come'Ü.