EU ministers make limited headway on new bank rules
EU finance ministers made only limited progress on Tuesday to find a compromise with the European Parliament on how to wind up failing banks before they can damage the wider economy.
Ministers discussed the idea of allowing some leeway in talks with Parliament, but Greece, as current holder of the EU presidency, “has no new mandate,” Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras (photo) said.
Going into the meeting, Stournaras warned that time was short and called for «some flexibility so that we can close the gap.»
Parliament breaks up in April for elections in May and there are growing concerns that a hard-won deal on bank regulation sealed by EU leaders in December could hang fire if the required lawmaker approval is not reached before then.
The 28 EU leaders agreed a groundbreaking Single Resolution Mechanism which will step in to close banks in trouble in an orderly fashion.
The mechanism would work alongside a new regulator, run by the European Central Bank, that is set to supervise the eurozone’s 130 biggest banks starting in November.
[AFP]
