The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority's (EIOPA) board of supervisors have appointed new members to its stakeholder groups.

The authority's Insurance & Reinsurance (IRSG) and Occupational Pensions Stakeholder Groups (OPSG) help to analyse and assess the impact of EIOPA's activities from different perspectives.

As well as delegates from industry and professional associations, the groups also represent consumers, users, employee representatives, beneficiaries and diverse types of financial institutions across the European Union (EU).

Gabriel Benardino, EIOPA chairman, said: "I would like to extend a warm welcome to the newly appointed members and to thank the former members for their devotion and very valuable contributions. During those two and a half years, they did a really great job.

"We are confident that, under the new composition, the stakeholder groups have the right professional expertise to provide feedback on all EIOPA's activities. The diversity of interested represented within the stakeholder groups is crucial for the practical implementation of EIOPA's mandate – to ensure financial stability and consumer protection in the EU."

A total of 20 EU Member States are represented in both groups. Out of 30 members, besides the delegates from industry and professional associations, the IRSG will now contain six consumers' and three users' and employees' representatives, while the OPSG will comprise five beneficiaries' and five employees' representatives.

The first meetings of the newly formed stakeholder groups will take place on 22 October (IRSG) and 24 October (OPSG), and then a joint meeting with the EIOPA's board of supervisors will be held on 26 November.

First published 09.10.2013

monique_simpson@wilmington.co.uk