The Bulgarian finance minister, Vladislav Goranov, made the announcement: reaching an agreement on the 'banking risk reduction' package will be a priority for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU (see EUROPE 11947). At the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of Tuesday 20 February, he reiterated his determination and announced that the Presidency hoped to reach a political agreement in principle ('general orientation') at the March 'Ecofin' Council.
“All the elements are on the table” and “consensus is within reach”, said the French minister, Bruno Le Maire, who is also hoping for an agreement between the member states in March.
Welcoming this level of ambition, the European Commissioner for Financial Services, Valdis Dombrovskis, said that it would be an “important stage in the implementation of the Banking Union roadmap”. An agreement on the 'risk reduction' package should facilitate the resumption of negotiations to create a European deposit insurance system (EDIS).
The day before, the Eurogroup took stock of progress in the implementation of the 2016 roadmap on the completion of Banking Union in the Eurozone (see EUROPE 11573). “It is not about adding new measures. It is about clarifying the timetable and content of the various elements of the roadmap”, said its president, Mario Centeno. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)