Brussels, 30/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - The legislative proposal aimed at setting up a single supervisory mechanism in the eurozone by January 2013, that the Commission is likely to present on Wednesday 12 September, will encompass all banks (see EUROPE 10677). “All banks in the eurozone will be covered by the new European supervisory system”, the European Commission president, José Manuel Durão Barroso, said in an article published on Thursday 30 August on the website of the Project Syndicate initiative, the day after a discussion on the issue at the College of Commissioners. According to Barroso, “we will need to bridge the gap between eurozone members and EU members that remain outside the monetary union” even though some of those member states “may want to participate in the new supervisory mechanisms”.
In addition to an enlarged scope, Barroso confirms that the ECB will be at the “heart” of the future system, with national supervisory authorities continuing to ensure control of the financial institutions on a daily basis. The Frankfurt-based ECB's supervisory role will be fully separated from its monetary policy responsibilities. In parallel, the European Banking Authority will continue to perform its existing tasks, namely the definition and development of the single rulebook for the entire single market. According to the Commission president, the banking union will be complete, by 2013, once a single resolution fund and a single resolution authority have been set in place.
Furthermore, in Salzburg on Thursday during the economic symposium in Alpbach, Barroso said it was “logical” to have an integration policy in parallel with financial, budgetary and economic integration. He also said: “This is needed to ensure democratic oversight of the process and to reassure the citizens of Europe that this is not just a project by the political and economic elites”. (MB/transl.jl)