European Union talks on how to assign losses at failing banks broke down as conflicts on "core issues" doomed 19 hours of talks in Luxembourg. Finance ministers plan to reconvene July in search of an agreement on proposed rules for bank resolution and recovery in time for an EU summit that begins the following day in Brussels. "There are still core issues outstanding," Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said as he left the meeting on early Saturday. "We have another meeting next (this) week and there's no guarantee it'll reach a conclusion." The new rules are intended to set standards for how to prop up or shut down failing banks, along with requirements for the kind of backstops each country must have in place. The draft law adds to the EU's push for common bank supervision in the eurozone and tougher across-the-board standards for authorities. After more than three years of crisis and bailouts in five eurozone nations, EU leaders have pursued banking union as a way to reassure investors that they can break the cycle of contagion between banks and sovereign debt. Talks foundered on the question of which creditors face write-downs when banks fail. Some countries demanded more flexibility for national authorities, while others sought strict rules across all 27 EU nations. Ministers considered several ways to set thresholds for losses that would need to be assigned via strict formulas before national discretion would be allowed. French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said he had "no doubt" ministers will reach an agreement next week, while his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schaeuble, said a final deal must be constructed in a way that won't burden taxpayers. The fight mirrored an earlier battle among eurozone ministers over when countries may seek direct bank aid from the European Stability Mechanism, the currency zone's 500 billion euro ($656 billion) firewall fund. On June 20, eurozone ministers said private investors must be tapped before the ESM will be allowed to step in, once ECB oversight begins and the new tool is in place. If finance chiefs don't reach a deal on the resolution rules before the EU's summer hiatus, this would jeopardize their ability to reach a deal on the bill with the European Parliament and could delay the EU's follow-on proposal for a single resolution mechanism, said Sharon Bowles, chairwoman of the parliament's economic affairs committee. "It needs to be handled very carefully," Bowles said. "Telling a citizen their savings are gone and that EU rules stop you from helping out via the taxpayer even if you want to, or stop you from saving small businesses and jobs, is about as political and tough as anything." During the talks, ministers sought to bridge differences between countries inside and outside the 17-nation eurozone. Austria and the European Commission sought common rules for all 27 EU members, while Sweden led the call for rules that grant more freedom to non-euro nations to prop up banks when financial stability is at risk. Anders Borg, the Swedish finance minister, said his country isn't "asking for anybody else's money" to take care of its banks. "We think we should have the leeway to do what we think is necessary," he said. "If we are building a very rigid system that can hardly work in practice, this could be something creating more uncertainty in the European economy."
Access Investments-Building Awareness - European Union-ROMANIA
Sunday, June 30, 2013
European Union talks on how to assign losses at failing banks broke down as conflicts on "core issues" doomed 19 hours of talks in Luxembourg. Finance ministers plan to reconvene July in search of an agreement on proposed rules for bank resolution and recovery in time for an EU summit that begins the following day in Brussels. "There are still core issues outstanding," Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said as he left the meeting on early Saturday. "We have another meeting next (this) week and there's no guarantee it'll reach a conclusion." The new rules are intended to set standards for how to prop up or shut down failing banks, along with requirements for the kind of backstops each country must have in place. The draft law adds to the EU's push for common bank supervision in the eurozone and tougher across-the-board standards for authorities. After more than three years of crisis and bailouts in five eurozone nations, EU leaders have pursued banking union as a way to reassure investors that they can break the cycle of contagion between banks and sovereign debt. Talks foundered on the question of which creditors face write-downs when banks fail. Some countries demanded more flexibility for national authorities, while others sought strict rules across all 27 EU nations. Ministers considered several ways to set thresholds for losses that would need to be assigned via strict formulas before national discretion would be allowed. French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said he had "no doubt" ministers will reach an agreement next week, while his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schaeuble, said a final deal must be constructed in a way that won't burden taxpayers. The fight mirrored an earlier battle among eurozone ministers over when countries may seek direct bank aid from the European Stability Mechanism, the currency zone's 500 billion euro ($656 billion) firewall fund. On June 20, eurozone ministers said private investors must be tapped before the ESM will be allowed to step in, once ECB oversight begins and the new tool is in place. If finance chiefs don't reach a deal on the resolution rules before the EU's summer hiatus, this would jeopardize their ability to reach a deal on the bill with the European Parliament and could delay the EU's follow-on proposal for a single resolution mechanism, said Sharon Bowles, chairwoman of the parliament's economic affairs committee. "It needs to be handled very carefully," Bowles said. "Telling a citizen their savings are gone and that EU rules stop you from helping out via the taxpayer even if you want to, or stop you from saving small businesses and jobs, is about as political and tough as anything." During the talks, ministers sought to bridge differences between countries inside and outside the 17-nation eurozone. Austria and the European Commission sought common rules for all 27 EU members, while Sweden led the call for rules that grant more freedom to non-euro nations to prop up banks when financial stability is at risk. Anders Borg, the Swedish finance minister, said his country isn't "asking for anybody else's money" to take care of its banks. "We think we should have the leeway to do what we think is necessary," he said. "If we are building a very rigid system that can hardly work in practice, this could be something creating more uncertainty in the European economy."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
It is not at all surprising that a man with a HUGE vested self-interest in the UK staying in the EU would say what he did, but he is in a minority - 99% of the country suffers from the EU with its socialist laws, its eco-fascist driven energy policy which allows Germany to do whatever it wants with highly polluting brown coal in npower stations, then lambaasts britain for not closing all its coal fired power stations quickly enough, tells the UK it cannot deport criminal scum while exporting EU criminals to the UK, and then tells the UK we have too many concessions.
The one EU concession we aim to utilise is the right to LEAVE before some depotic bureacrat makes membership compulsory and irrevocable..
'sir mike' really is a bit of a plonker and thank god he and the other bunch of self interested 'ceo's' have only one vote each in an election.
what is he saying - we have to stay in at any cost ? he seems to be saying cameron has to stay in and try to make the EU a 'more more liberal and completes a properly functioning single market'
well 'sir mike' must have been asleep at his desk for the past 20 years - every time the UK has asked for anything of the sort the majority of other EU members have jumped up and down and said NO.
why does 'sir mike' believe they are going to accommodate us now - because 'sir mike' wants them to ?
its not on old chap. the majority want out and lets hope you are not allowed to spend my money pushing this sort of pro EU drivel
The Euro is a failure, monetary unity has led to economic stagnation, and the EU leadership has proven time and time again its ability to lie, bully, and make decisions in secret without regard to national interests. Despite this all the European media assumes that Euroskeptics are in need of education and convincing. Well, the people are educated and remain unconvinced. If Der Spiegel itself can mock the promises of our masters in Brussels, then perhaps it is time to wonder aloud (and on page) whether the Union wouldn't be better off as a historical footnote, rather than a thousand year "empire."
Once the regulations are in place it is up to the People to MAKE their politicians enforce it. That has been the problem so far, no one has enforced the few Finance rules remaining after Reagan/Thatcher decimated them along with Environmental and Labor protections. Being a Citizen has its price, and part of that is taking action when the government is not acting in your best interests. Beyond voting, it is part of Citizenship to be aware of what is going on and being willing to take to the streets if things are going wrong. Ordinary Citizens are only a match for the power of the top 10% when they are willing to take the fight to the streets. So know who you are voting for, then make them accountable for upholding the laws. Fat, Dumb and Happy times are over. We snoozed and played while they slowly gained immense power, but those days are gone (hopefully forever). Be willing to put boots on the street or nothing will really change.
Post a Comment