Channel Islands Ministers used a high-profile diplomatic visit to Brussels to showcase their financial credibility, flaunting their recent Moneyval success and positioning the islands as leaders in sustainable finance.
Jersey’s Minister for External Relations, Deputy Ian Gorst, and his Guernsey counterpart, Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq, recently traveled to Brussels for a series of discussions on the future of UK-EU relations and the Channel Islands’ place in the European financial landscape.
The meetings took place alongside a reception marking the 15th anniversary of the Channel Islands Brussels Office, which represents both islands in EU affairs.
During talks with high-level diplomats – including ambassadors from France and Malta, representatives from Poland, and senior UK officials – the Ministers sought to reinforce the Channel Islands’ position as key players in international finance, particularly in light of their positive MONEYVAL assessments.
The assessments evaluate jurisdictions on their efforts to combat money laundering and financial crime.
Released last summer, Jersey’s results saw the island marked positively overall with a formal recommendation to go further in fighting and prosecuting money laundering. Guernsey received similar advice off the back of another very positive assessment published last month.
The Ministers also used the visit to promote the Channel Islands’ role in sustainable finance, an area of growing significance as global markets shift towards environmentally and socially responsible investment.
Back in 2021, Jersey Finance unveiled a new vision and strategy for the island’s finance industry to support the transition to a more sustainable future and sets out a vision and a number of objectives for where Jersey intends to be by 2030.
A study by JTC Group looking into ESG standards across the financial services sector across the British Isles, including the Channel Islands, concluded in February last year that there was “no common approach amongst investment trust companies”.
Last March, Jersey’s Government undertook a consultation to gather the views of businesses on a regulatory framework to deal with “increasing expectations that the finance sector will take account of environmental factors such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution prevention” and ensuring that “public and private institutions include all social and environmental considerations in all decisions they make”.
An ‘action plan’ was subsequently published in November.
In line with this, Jersey’s financial regulator last week launched a survey to inform their future approach to corporate sustainability disclosures, sustainability risk management and ESG business integrity risk. That survey closed yesterday.
Deputy Le Tocq described the recent visit as a “key opportunity to speak with representatives in Brussels and inform them of the interests of the Channel Islands”.
“Regular engagement with EU partners is an essential part of our long-standing good neighbour policy. During these meetings I was pleased to discuss our financial services interests as well as noting the positive MONEYVAL assessment,” he said.
Deputy Gorst said it was “more important than ever, post-Brexit, to engage with representatives of European Member States”.
“Direct engagement with the EU in Brussels is essential to ensure our interests are known and understood. I look forward to continuing to build on our discussions over the past days through the work of the Channel Islands Brussels Office,” he added.