Charlie McCreevy and Christopher Cox have been lauded with the prestigious Atlantic Leadership Award by the European-American Business Council.

McCreevy - a European Union Commissioner for Internal Market and Services - and Cox - chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission - received the award on Friday, in recognition of their work in addressing issues of evolving transatlantic economic cooperation and regulatory harmony.

In accepting his award, Cox outlined the Commission’s priorities for the coming year, which included a roadmap for US implementation of IFRS, a roadmap on interactive data delivery using XBRL and the pursuit of mutual recognition of securities market regulation.

'Our task as regulators is to lower the barriers to the efficient operation of the world’s capital markets, by rationalising the different regulatory approaches. Of pre-eminent importance as we do this is our fundamental mission of protecting investors, maintaining orderly markets and, promoting capital information. In all of these things, we are Europe’s close partner,' he said.

In his acceptance speech, McCreevy told the audience of more than 100 business leaders and representatives of government, that the EU remains committed to focusing on an internationally coordinated response to tackle the key issues of market transparency, prudential regulation and risk management, valuation and market functioning.

'We [the US and EU] are working full steam to deliver results here. We have also started to talk bilaterally on new issues like sovereign wealth funds,' he said.

He said the EU would continue to focus on accounting, auditing, reinsurance and mutual recognition of securities, making it clear that 'our existing files in the financial markets regulatory dialogue should not be affected by the turmoil, on the contrary.'