Szego addressed whether Europe can preserve financial integrity while allowing innovation to flourish. Her central message was that the two are not in tension: innovation flourishes not despite integrity, but because of it. Trust, she argued, is an essential precondition for innovation, as people adopt new technologies and markets scale them when they are confident that appropriate safeguards are in place.
She set out three reasons why integrity supports innovation. First, fighting financial crime begins with understanding risks, a task for which technology has become indispensable. Second, a harmonised system gives innovation the environment it needs: stable markets, predictable rules, legal certainty and a level playing field. Third, a system with integrity must by design be agile, responding to innovation as it emerges rather than catching up after the fact. She pointed to crypto-assets as the clearest example, brought fully within the framework through MiCAR and the new AML/CFT package.
Closing her remarks, the Chair reflected on the relevance of Europe's experience for the Western Balkans, emphasising that closer regional cooperation can help reduce the gaps between national systems.
Following her speech, Szego answered a question from moderator David Marsh, Chairman of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF).
