DUBLIN, Oct 18: The European Commission is expected to sign off officially in mid-November on its proposals for updating the investment services directive, the backbone of the region’s planned single financial market, despite growing calls for the frantic pace of financial reforms to be slowed.

Drafts of the proposed investment services directive (ISD) were widely leaked over the summer, and Commission sources told Reuters on Friday that no major changes were anticipated to the draft document, which will govern how brokers, banks and investors will interact in a single market.

Once the College of Commissioners has adopted the ISD, scheduled for November 13, it will be up to the Council of Ministers and European Parliament to agree on a final text, Commission sources said.

The ISD is one of 42 measures being introduced to create a single financial market by 2005, a step which the Commission suggested would increase annual economic growth by about 0.5 percentage point. The Brussels executive will release a study shortly to show how much countries will benefit from a harmonized financial market.

Angela Knight, chief executive of Apcims, the trade body of UK brokers and private client investment managers, said on Friday that it was not possible to put in place all the measures the Commission proposed in time for 2005.

“There is a debate to be had about whether 2005 is too quick,” she told the Apcims annual meeting here.

Tom Healy, chief executive of the Irish Stock Exchange warned about the “sheer volume and speed” of the reform process.

Commission sources said there was enough time for the “big part” of the 42 measures, known collectively as the financial services action plan, to be passed by 2005 if the political will was there.

“So far we are seeing rather good cooperation results between the Council and the Parliament,” the sources said.—Reuters