George Zavvos
CEPS Staff

George Zavvos

Senior Advisor

George Zavvos
About

George Zavvos

Senior Advisor

George Zavvos has served at the European institutions as a Member of the European Parliament (M.E.P.), European Commission Ambassador and Legal Adviser at the Legal Service of the European Commission.

Between 1990 – 1994 he was elected as an M.E.P; he was member of the Legal and Citizens’ Rights Committee [Rapporteur on the Directive on capital adequacy of banks and investment firms and on the Directive on the freedom of management and investment of funds held by institutions for retirement provision], the Budgets Committee [EP Rapporteur on the Financial Regulation of the EU (1993)] and the Budgetary Control Committee [EP Rapporteur on EIB and EBRD; Standing Rapporteur of the EP on borrowing and lending to Central and Eastern European Countries]. He was also Chairman of the Committee for the Reform of the Greek Banking System which introduced the Greek Banking Law of 1992 (1991-1993).

Between 1994-1997, George was appointed the first European Commission Ambassador and Head of Delegation to the Slovak Republic.

For the past 15 years, George was a Legal Adviser at the Legal Service of the European Commission at the Business Law Team (Banks and insurance; Stock exchanges and securities markets;) and the MIME (Internal Market) Team (Free movement of goods; Industry SMEs, Environment; Energy). In the 1980s he worked at the European Commission’s DG for Financial Institutions and Company Law (DG XV) where he was in charge of drafting and negotiating the Second Banking Directive (1981-1990) that introduced the passporting for banks in the EU.

George was Professor at the Solvay Business School (ULB) (1991-1993) and Visiting Professor at Queen Mary, University of London (2004-2007).  He holds a Bachelor of Laws from Athens University and a postgraduate Degree on EU Law from the College of Europe. He is Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Economics in Bratislava (2004) and has been awarded the Double Cross of the Slovak Republic.

Representative (external) publications

Books

  • “EC Banking Policy for 1992”, published by the Hellenic Banks Association, 1989. Introduction by Sir Leon Brittan, Vice President, European Commission. p. 399.
  • EU Policy for Banks and Capital Markets: Legal Framework and Developments”, Athens, 2007,  co-author and editor. Author of the chapter “Capital Adequacy of banks and MiFID impact on investment banking: a Policy and Legal Analysis”, pp 29-52.

Articles

  • “Single Resolution Mechanism: Legal Foundation, Governance Structure and Financing” (co-authored) in the book “Research Handbook on Crisis Management in the Banking Sector”, London, 2015, Edward Edgar Publishing, pp 117-149.
  • Banking Integration and 1992: Legal Issues and Policy Implications”, Harvard International Law Journal, Volume 31, No. 2, spring 1990, p. 235-278.
  • Pension Fund Liberalisation and the Future of Retirement Financing in Europe”, in Common Market Law Review 31, 1994, p. 609-630.

LL.B. Athens University, Faculty of Law (Athens, Greece); Postgraduate Diploma in Law (Bruges, Belgium)