“Michel Barnier, the European Commissioner for internal markets and services, unleashed an unprecedented and highly improper attack on U.S. regulators generally and the Commoidty Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and its Chairman, Gary Gensler, in particular (notably without actually naming the CFTC or Mr. Gensler). Mr. Barnier, in a Bloomberg op-ed, criticized the CFTC approach to cross-border implementation of the Dodd Frank financial reform law and the implementing regulations relating to derivatives, what Warren Buffett correctly referred to as “financial weapons of mass destruction.”

“Mr. Barnier, however, has grossly overstated what the Europeans have done and distorted what is being done in the U.S. Making matters worse, the timing of Mr. Barnier’s misleading public broadside against U.S. regulations is a clear attempt to interfere with ongoing, sensitive deliberations among U.S. regulators. Last December, the CFTC set a deadline of July 12 regarding its cross-border approach and, with just three weeks to go, Mr. Barnier published his attack in an inappropriate attempt to influence the CFTC and U.S. rulemaking.

“The primary premise of Mr. Barnier’s opinion piece is simply wrong: Europe’s rules are not stronger and better than the U.S. rules and the U.S. should not surrender its regulatory duties to European rules or wait for Europe to finish the many rules still being negotiated. A truth Mr. Barnier failed to mention is that Europe is years behind the U.S. in passing financial reform laws and regulations generally and derivatives rules in particular.”

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Read Dennis Kelleher’s full Huffington Post piece here