An influential think-tank has proposed a new set of voluntary rules to accelerate the integration of European financial markets and overcome the national and political barriers that have dogged progress towards harmonisation.

Eurofi, a think-tank and lobbying group supported by many senior figures in European banking, outlined its proposals at a conference last week in Luxembourg. The plan, which will be fleshed out later this year, aims to simplify market access and bypass some of the residual barriers to free movement of capital and financial services within the European Union.