Translation of "prime peu importante " (French → English) :

9. Takes the view that the financial sector must go back to its initial function and operate first and foremost in the public interest, accept lower returns and agree to bonus payment systems geared to risk-aversion and long-term targets instead of short-term profits; points out that the financial industry in the industrial countries, and especially in the US and in some EU Member States, is too big for the good of societies and must be cut down to a healthier size; stresses that this could be supported by a broadly based financial transactions tax; regrets that the G20 leaders only gave the IMF responsibility for investigating the po ...[+++]ssibility of such a financial transactions tax to contribute towards covering the costs of the recent financial crisis and to help to avoid future crises;

I voted in favour of the package because of the importance of the result achieved in terms of the Community contribution to insurance premiums and the retention of lower subsidies which are extremely important in countries such as Portugal.

My clients range from small companies—actually smaller than myself, embarrassingly—the pay perhaps a low four-figure premium up to some fairly large corporate household names and Canadian financial institutions.