BRUSSELS, March 4 (Reuters) - The European Union's executive arm proposed a raft of measures on Wednesday to make financial markets and institutions safer for investors.
The worst financial crisis in decades has helped tip the 27-country bloc's economy into a downturn and push up unemployment, sparking a radical rethink of how markets and banks are regulated.
"Our message is clear, we must send a strong signal to our citizens, businesses and the global community that there is a way out of this crisis," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference.
The measures are in line with a draft of the plan obtained by Reuters on Tuesday. [nL3897815]
They range from tougher bank capital rules to streamlining supervision, more transparency in derivatives markets and proposals to ensure bank remuneration policies do not encourage excessive risk-taking.
The measures will need backing from the European Parliament and EU governments to become law. (Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Dale Hudson)