The Meeting of European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance) and the 10th International Investors' Conference ended in Wiesbaden on Tuesday night. Over 120 prominent guests and highest representatives of companies and institutions in the field of capital markets and finance attended the presentation on the Volkswagen case as well as the compensation claims of investors against the company and persons responsible. Procedures and different options were presented by renowned lawyers Mrs. Deborah Sturman from the New York law firm Sturman LLC, Mr. Larry Sucharow from the New York law firm Labaton Sucharow LLC, Mr. Anatoli van der Krans from the New York law firm Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, and Mrs. Daniela A. Bergdolt, Vice-President and lawyer of the German association of shareholders and investors (DSW).

The Committee of the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia for the economy, craft industry, tourism and finance also invited PanSlovenian Investors' & Shareholders' Association (VZMD) and representatives of the Securities Market Agency (ATVP) and Ministry of Finance to its 66^th meeting. After a lively debate and confrontation of opinions and arguments (VIDEO) between the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, and the ATVP representatives, Mr. Primož Pinoza and Mr. Žiga Kosi, and the Ministry of Finance representative Mr. Aleš Butala, members of the National Council favored the arguments and viewpoints of VZMD and unanimously (8 : 0) signed off the proposal for amendments to the Financial Instruments Act (ZTFI-G), with the exception of the bill or amendments to Article 255 of ZTFI respectively, about which VZMD and the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance) - ever since the motion has been filed by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia - have warned that it is expressly in opposition to the Regulation 909/2014 909/2014 of the European Parliament and Council, general Slovenian laws and interests of minority shareholders and investors on the Slovenian capital market.

The open letter recently sent by the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance), staunchly supporting VZMD and "Share SUPPORT" in opposing to the government proposal of the amending act to the Financial Instruments Act  (ZTFI-G), was subject to reporting by over 200 European and American news media. On Wednesday, the PanSlovenian Investors' & Shareholders' Association (VZMD) warned about the mentioned problem also via the portal https://vzmd.newswire.com/ designed for informing international audiences and news media.

Individual political parties and deputy groups have responded to the letter of the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, who has sent it last week to the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, presidents of parliamentary parties and leaders of deputy groups containing substantiated warnings and an appeal in view of the Bill on amending Financial Instruments Act  (ZTFI-G). A meeting with representatives of the political party "Nova Slovenija – krščanski demokrati (NSi)", attended by the leader of the deputy group, Mr. Matej Tonin, the party's Secretary general, Mr. Robert Ilc, and the President of the Economic Club, Mr. Pavel Reberc, took place yesterday where the attendees listened to the arguments of the PanSlovenian Investors' & Shareholders' Association (VZMD) which firmly opposes the amendment to Article 255 of the ZTFI with the additional paragraph 10. The NSi representatives showed their understanding for VZMD's arguments and made sure that they would thoroughly examine them and state their position in the next meeting of their deputy group.

The World Federation of Investors (WFI), whose active member is also the PanSlovenian Investors' & Shareholders' Association (VZMD), has announced news regarding the damages inflicted to investors in Volkswagen. The American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested an executive of Volkswagen and accused him of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., which implies the intensification of the criminal investigation of fraud committed by the car manufacturer in terms of diesel motor emissions. Mr. Oliver Schmidt, who was the compliance manager for Volkswagen in the U.S. from the summer of 2014 to March 2015, was arrested by the investigators in Florida at the beginning of the month.

Immediately after yesterday's meeting of the Executive Board, the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance) drafted  and sent out an open letter firmly supporting the PanSlovenian Investors` & Shareholders` Association (VZMD) and “Share SUPPORT” in the opposition to the proposal of the amending act to Financial Instruments Act (ZTFI-G), adopted by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia at its session on 5 January and sent for reading to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia by way of summary procedure. The letter from Better Finance was, in addition to the members of the National Assembly, sent out also to the Slovenian Prime Minister, Mr. Miro Cerar, director of the Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (FISMA), Mr. Ugo Bassi, and Head of the Securities Markets Unit at FISMA, Mr. Tilman Lueder. In this regard, today Better Finance also sent out a public announcement, which was received besides media and business audience and relevant European and financial institutions, also by the members of the European Parliament.  

Brussels was yesterday a venue of the important meeting of the Executive Board of the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance), which, in the capacity of a member, - besides representatives of investors' and shareholders' associations from Denmark, France, Iceland, Luxembourg, Germany, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom - was also attended by the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič. The central part of the agenda was the medium-term strategy, adoption of the budget including determination of additional financing resources, discussion about the personnel reinforcement and future investors conferences and expertise.

The PanSlovenian Investors' & Shareholders' Association (VZMD) President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, sent the Speaker of the National Assembly, presidents of parliamentary parties and leaders of deputy groups a letter with substantiated warnings and an appeal in view of the Bill on amending Financial Instruments Market Act (ZTFI-G), as adopted by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia at its last session on 5 January and sent for reading to the National Assembly by way of summary procedure today. Furthermore, in its accompanying press release, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia communicated that one of the main goals of the amending act would be "to eliminate identified deficiencies and inconsistencies of the applicable Financial Instruments Market Act".

While preparing for the recent legal actions for damages due to expropriations in Slovenian banks, the problem of expropriated investors was, beside the PanSlovenian Investors' & Shareholders' Association (VZMD) team, also addressed in detail by the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance). The Better Finance Managing Director, Mr. Guillaume Prache, presented the actual implementation of the bail-in rules in case of Slovenian banks at the Banking Stakeholder Group meeting at the European Banking Authority (EBA) on December 8 in London. He especially made reference to the individual and retail investors, who didn't have any opportunity for damages since the expropriation nor any opportunity for legal remedies against the total expropriation.

The traditional International Investors' Conference “European Capital Markets Union” took place in Wiesbaden, Germany yesterday. The conference, held every other year by the German association of shareholders and investors (DSW) and European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance), was attended by over 120 prominent guests and the highest representatives of companies and institutions in the field of capital markets and finance.

Yesterday, the annual meeting of the World Federation of Investors (WFI) and a congress of the International Financial Litigation Network (IFLN) began at the Representation of the European Commission in Madrid. The two-day conference is organized also by the Spanish Investor Association (AEMEC), International Law Firms Network (EURO-LATAM LEX), and one of the most influential Spanish law firms, Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo; the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance) and the World Jurist Association (WJA) also participated in its preparation.