12 September 2013

Statement by President Barroso and Commissioner Barnier following the EP's vote on the creation of the SSM

President Barroso said:

"I am extremely pleased that the European Parliament voted today to set up the Single Supervisory Mechanism, the first leg of the Banking Union. The SSM, which I first announced in my State of the Union speech last year, is a lynchpin of a deeper economic and monetary union, and this vote shows that the EU is delivering on its promises. Now our attention must turn urgently to the Single Resolution Mechanism. The Commission's proposal has been on the table since July and it is crucial that we finalise it even more swiftly. I welcome the support of many in the plenary yesterday to have it adopted during this term."

Commissioner Barnier said:

“Today, the EP has given its final go-ahead so that the European Central Bank will be fully entrusted with responsibility for the supervision of banks in the framework of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). This is the first effective step creating the Banking Union.

With this key piece of legislation, we are not only strengthening our banks and the financial stability of the eurozone, we are also strengthening economic integration.

The ECB now has the legal capacity to supervise all banks of the eurozone and of those countries which decide to join the Banking Union. The supervisory powers of the ECB will be fully effective and operational one year after the entry into force of the texts. New rules adapting the operating rules of the European Banking Authority (EBA) to this new framework will also enter into force in parallel.

I would in particular like to acknowledge the crucial roles played by the rapporteurs Marianne Thyssen and Sven Giegold in finding this agreement.

Let me also put this major achievement into a historic perspective. At the end of this week, on September 15, it will be five years since Lehman Brothers’ filed for bankruptcy. This event triggered the biggest global financial crisis in modern history. Five years on, the crisis is still not completely behind us but a lot has been done to put the European financial sector back on its feet and allow it to finance the real economy and contribute to growth once again. We are putting in place all the necessary rules to better protect European citizens and to prevent future crises. The SSM is an essential part of that work.

But the Banking Union is not finished with the SSM. It will be complemented by an integrated European resolution system for all countries participating in the Banking Union. This system will be built on the foundations of the Directive on Banking Resolution for Member States which I hope to see adopted shortly, and on the Single Resolution Mechanism proposed by the Commission in July this year.

The text on the SSM agreed by the Parliament and the Council also establishes rules on the governance and responsibility of the European Central Bank which ensures a strict separation between its supervisory tasks and its monetary policy functions. It also foresees appropriate mechanisms to strengthen the democratic responsibility of the ECB for its supervisory activities. In that context, I would like also to congratulate the EP and the ECB for having reached agreement on the detailed modalities for the exercise of the EP's democratic oversight over the SSM”.

Press release

See also Commissioner Barnier's speech: Banking Union - How far have we come? (French only)

© European Commission