Brussels, 16/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is in the process of setting up a group of experts on banking in Europe, it announced on Monday 16 January 2012. The group will be chaired by the governor of the Bank of Finland, Erkki Liikanen. The department of EU Single Market Commissioner Michel Barnier said that the new expert group would start working in February 2012 and conclude its research by the end of the year on how to make banking in Europe stronger. It will look at whether, in addition to the current batch of reforms, further changes are needed to make banking in Europe more efficient, stable and more protective of consumer interests. If so, the Commission says that the expert group will suggest suitable structural reforms. Barnier himself said that he expected the group to come forward with all the changes to banking in Europe that they feel would be useful to shore up financial stability and allow banks to play a full role in support of the single market and growth in Europe. For several months now, Barnier's department has been preparing a plan to solve bank crises, comprising a raft of measures to avert panic on the markets and meltdown in the event of one bank going bust. (LC/transl.fl)