You might have thought that, with the Eurozone in turmoil, the EU would have no time to pursue its vendetta against hedge funds. Far from it, the latest proposals are even more wide-ranging than most observers anticipated. They involve the establishment of a Europe-wide regulatory authority with the power (presumably) to dictate to the FSA how to police the UK’s financial sector, restricting the ability of hedge funds based outside Europe to sell inside Europe and making it hard for European investors to invest in the rest of the world’s alternative investment vehicles. Although the regulations are aimed squarely at the predominance of London as a financial centre, the collateral damage will threaten every investor, pension fund contributor or life insurance buyer, and ultimately every taxpayer in Europe.