At a roundtable with the Greek government in Athens on Thursday 14 June, the Commissioner for the euro, Valdis Dombrovskis, expressed his hopes that the Eurozone summit at the end of June would agree on the creation of a common backstop for the Single Resolution Fund (SRF), the financial arm of Banking Union in the Eurozone (see EUROPE 12037).
Dombrovskis considers that the backstop would “reinforce confidence in the banking system”, which is why it is currently a priority.
Although the exact structure of this backstop has yet to be defined, the European Commissioner sketched out the broadest possible outlines. The European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the permanent bailout fund of the Eurozone, is expected to take on this role, with a dedicated budgetary line in the region of €60 million. Dombrovskis also said that this backstop will be permanent and capable to provide money at very short notice, so that a “[bank] resolution can be completed over a weekend – or sometimes overnight – before markets open”.
Echoing Mario Centeno, the President of the Eurogroup, speaking last week (see EUROPE 12034), Dombrovskis also called for progress to be made on setting up a European deposit insurance system (EDIS) and making the Capital Markets Union a reality. He also highlighted the benefits of the Commission's proposals of 31 May on the European Investment Stabilisation Function and the Reform Support Programme (see EUROPE 12031).
With the Eurogroup meeting of 21 June in Luxembourg to confirm Greece's departure, in mid-August, from the third and final financial bailout plan (see EUROPE 12040), Dombrovskis acknowledged the sacrifices made by the Greek people since 2010. The aim now is to agree on a post-aid plan supervisory framework and on measures to relieve the Greek public debt. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)