BRUSSELS (MNI) – European officials can find a way to give
non-Eurozone countries that want their banks supervised by the European
Central Bank a formal voice in the supervision process, EU Council
President Herman Van Rompuy declared on Friday.
EU member states that don’t yet use the euro as their currency,
including Poland and Sweden, have balked at the idea of submitting their
banks to ECB supervision because the EU treaty denies them the
possibility of participating in ECB decisions.
“According to my analysis, it is more of a legal problem than a
political one,” Van Rompuy said at the end of a two-day meeting of EU
leaders here. “The political will to find a solution for the full
participation of non-euro area member states is there. We will find a
legal solution for the problem, I am sure,” he said.
EU leaders agreed in the early hours of Friday morning to push
ahead with plans to give the ECB supervisory power over Eurozone banks,
pledging to conclude negotiations on the plan by the start of next year,
and to roll out the new system over the course of 2013.
Following the marathon talks on banking supervision that started
Thursday, EU leaders on Friday discussed growth measures and foreign
policy.
EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso exhorted the leaders of
the 27-nation European Union to implement agreed measures to boost
growth, by removing remaining internal trade barriers and exploring
trade agreements with other major economies, as a matter of urgency.
“We should…keep the focus on our immediate priority, which is to
promote growth and create jobs,” he said.
–Brussels Newsroom, +324-952-28374; pkoh@mni-news.com
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