The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) has appointed executive director Mariana Kühnel to represent Austria on the Board of Supervisors (BoS) of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA).

Kühnel succeeds FMA head of insurance supervision division, Peter Braumüller, who has served on the BoS since EIOPA’s establishment in 2011 and is set to retire in 2026.

Commenting on her appointment, FMA executive director, Mariana Kühnel, emphasised the importance of collaboration at a European level.

“Effective European supervision requires close cooperation between national authorities and EIOPA,” she said.

“The FMA has always actively contributed its expertise, and I am very much looking forward to continuing this tradition in my new role.”

Kühnel also highlighted a current regulatory focus on improving efficiency and reducing administrative burdens.

“An important goal for both the FMA and EIOPA is currently to make supervision more efficient: reporting obligations should be concentrated on the essentials, duplicate reports avoided, and data used more intelligently,” she added.

“This relieves the burden on companies and simultaneously strengthens modern, risk-oriented supervision.”

EIOPA forms part of the European System of Financial Supervision, alongside the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Banking Authority (EBA).

Kühnel is also a member of ESMA’s Board of Supervisors, while FMA board member, Helmut Ettl, serves as vice-chairman of the EBA.

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