On Tuesday 13 May, Germany’s new Finance Minister, Lars Klingbeil, endorsed several of the previous government’s “red lines” regarding the CMDI legislative package aimed at strengthening the management of a banking crisis.
“I have to be very clear on the ‘CMDI’ [legislative proposal]: the German position remains unchanged”, said Mr Klingbeil, who felt that the compromises reached when the EU Council adopted its negotiating position in June 2024 (see EUROPE 13435/2) were “the maximum” that his country could accept. He added that “Member States’ red lines need to be respected” if progress is to be made on the legislative package and banking union as a whole.
For example, the Minister saw “no room for manoeuvre” on provisions relating to bridging the gap in funding the resolution of a failing bank by resorting, under specific conditions, to national bank deposit guarantee schemes.
In particular, Germany is very attached to its institutional protection scheme and sets out its conditions for using this system to finance a banking resolution.
The European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union, Maria Luís Albuquerque, acknowledged that the negotiations proved to be “a difficult discussion for several Member States”, but felt that the time had come to “engage and compromise” with a view to reaching an agreement with the European Parliament.
“My objective is to make a real step forward for the banking union and not to renationalise the way we deal with bank failures”, she emphasised. She also called for a simpler and more effective regulatory framework for “crisis situations when time is of the essence”.
The President-in-Office of the Ecofin Council, Polish Minister Andrzej Domański, reported that six trilogue negotiating sessions had been held since the beginning of the year, with the next trilogue scheduled for Thursday 22 May. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)