Brussels, 17/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - Representatives of the European Parliament (EP) and the EU Council of Ministers made little progress on Wednesday 16 January 2013 in the second three-way talks on the legislation to introduce a eurozone bank supervision mechanism. The two institutions are divided over a number of issues, including the appointment procedure for the chair of the Supervisory Committee to be set up at the European Central Bank (ECB). The next three-ways negotiations meeting will take place on 22 and 23 January.
“The timetable is sliding”, said Sven Giegold (Greens/EFA, Germany), the EP rapporteur on the draft legislation to amend the regulation setting up the European Banking Authority (EBA), because “the Irish Presidency's mandate is not substantive enough to go fast”. He said it would be difficult for the EP to get concessions on the core of the ECB regulation compromise, like the €30 billion assets cap after which banks will be supervised by the ECB directly (see EUROPE 10751). He added that, anyway, the EP itself is not united on this issue.
The EP wants to be given a role to play in the appointment of the head and deputy head of the new Supervisory Committee. An Irish Presidency document drawn up after the three-way talks of 8 and 9 January says that the EP had expressed the strong desire to be involved and is concerned about the need to ensure parity between men and women. The Council's legal department has queried the validity of the EP's stand on this point and Giegold admitted that there was no possibility of a breakthrough. He is one of the two dozen or so MEPs leading those opposed to the appointment of Yves Mersch of Luxembourg to the ECB Executive Board because they want a woman to get the job.
Giegold brought up the EP's demand that the ECB be given the task of supervising any bank in receipt of aid, rather than only banks receiving EU aid, and for this to apply as soon as the legislation is adopted.
EBA. The European Parliament says that the European Banking Authority (EBA) should draw up the supervision manual, but the Council of Ministers says the ECB should do it. The EP wants a stronger stress tests regime for the EBA. It has the Spanish banks very much in mind, but the Council of Ministers is not very forthcoming on this point, said Giegold, adding that the MEPs want proportionality to apply to ensure reporting requirements do not over-burden small banks and those with a small risk profile. On the question of voting rights, the EP wants to ensure that the new system does not give countries, especially the United Kingdom, the right, in practice, to veto anything when very few non-euro countries will remain outside the eurozone bank supervision system. (MB/transl.fl)