Banking Union

Banking union hard to swallow in Berlin

Published on 11 July 2013 at 14:03

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“Banking union: Germany hits the brakes again”, leads French online daily La Tribune following the European Commission’s proposals for the second stage of the banking union project, which “consists of creating a Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) for bailing out or dismantling troubled banks”:

Composed of representatives from the [European Central Bank (ECB)], the European Commission and the relevant national authorities, it would prepare the resolution of a bank. This resolution board “would have broad powers to analyse and define the approach for resolving a bank”. Yet, the resolution board will have to be satisfied with just making recommendations. It will be up to the Commission to “push the button” approving the application of a resolution programme.

La Tribune highlights Germany's hesitations, which “argues that the Commission proposal goes beyond its responsibilities and would imply a modification of treaties. [...] [Germany also] fears that German banks will foot the bill for its ailing foreign competitors, whether to finance their bailout or their shutdown.”

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In Berlin, daily Die Welt reports that “the EU is seeking a fight with Germany,” thus adopting the position of a German official who complains that Brussels “is exaggerating” by demanding to “have the last word”. On the other hand, in its leader article, the paper has “no objections, in principle” to the Commission’s plan, since “everybody knows [...] that it is better for all those responsible to be sitting at the same table.” Die Welt nonetheless worries:

The bailout of the euro has already given birth to too many temporary solutions: the shifting of banking supervision to the [ECB], for example. On the one hand, it must design its monetary policies in an independent manner, and on the other, it must make decisions that require [...] democratic monitoring [...]. The Commission’s current proposal shows that it already had doubts about this conflict of interest. It would be logical to allow the ECB the right to dismantle banks after having given it the responsibility to supervise them. But the Commission understands this is a sin of intervention. That is why it has been attributed the power to dismantle banks. It would require an amendment to the European Union Treaty for the framework of stability to itself become stable.

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