European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has urged all the 27 European Union members to consider a single cross-border supervisor for their banks in order to form a banking union, which could be enacted as early as next year.
In an interview to the Financial Times, which was published on the daily's internet edition late Monday, Barroso said the EU needed to take "a very big step" towards deeper integration if the bloc is to learn the lessons of the sovereign debt crisis.
The plan involves an EU-wide deposit guarantee scheme and a rescue fund paid for by levies on financial institutions. This could be enacted without changes in the bloc's existing treaties, Barroso was quoted as saying during the interview.
Meanwhile, Bundesbank Vice-President Sabine Lautenschlager said a banking union could only work in tandem with a strong and binding fiscal union.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News