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20 March 2014

Integrating Europe
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Graham Bishop
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Articles from 13 March 2014 - 20 March 2014

Graham Bishop

Graham Bishop: SRM – Deal cobbled together?
The SRM decision is coming about in a very unsatisfactory way for a matter that is said by all concerned to be crucial to the continuing stability of the euro. What is all the sound and fury actually about?  View Article
Graham Bishop: Europe: Miliband + Soros + Merkel = Impenetrable Fog in Channel and Clarity unlikely in Budget
The British political class seems determined to avoid recognising that the euro area will expand and deepen in the next few years – cementing the range of common interests and thus political integration. The arithmetic of voting weights will shift the balance of power away from Britain.   View Article

Political

EP President Schulz: "The European Union is necessary, now more than ever"
"If we Europeans peel off into our component parts... we should make no mistake about the consequences. We will be left to drift insignificantly into the backwaters of the world political scene."  View Article
VP Reding: Europe - Strengthened from the crisis, weakened for the European elections?
Reding stressed the need for a factual and objective debate on Europe before the elections in May. She also made the case for the democratic legitimacy of the European decision-making process.  View Article
Steinmeier/Timmermans: A strong Europe with the right priorities
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Frans Timmermans published an article on their vision of the future of the EU.   View Article

Financial

ECB/Draghi: Bank restructuring and the economic recovery
"By encouraging creative destruction in the banking sector, we can facilitate creative destruction in the wider economy and support the recovery."  View Article
German Constitutional Court: ESM and fiscal compact ruled constitutional
"Despite the liabilities assumed, the budgetary autonomy of the German Bundestag is sufficiently safeguarded", ruled Germany's highest court, thus supporting Europe's ESM bailout fund and reflecting earlier decisions by lower courts which had already provisionally approved the scheme.  View Article
Basel Committee recognises ESM and EFSF securities as Level 1 HQLA
Securities issued by ESM and EFSF have been designated as Level 1 High Quality Liquid Assets, according to a decision by the BCBS. As a result, securities issued by both the ESM and EFSF will be included in the list of entities receiving a 0 per cent risk weighting under Basel II.  View Article
ESM/Regling: Interview in Ir magazine
Regling was interviewed i.a. on a possible third programme for Greece, whether Portugal would go for a clean exit or a precautionary programme, the ESM's potential recap involvement after the stress tests, and the situation in Italy.  View Article
EUobserver: Juncker and Schulz in favour of eurobonds
Eurobonds - a controversial debt mutualisation project fiercely opposed by Germany - are being supported in the long run by both the centre-right and centre-left top candidates in the EU elections.  View Article
CEPS/Gros: A fiscal shock absorber for the eurozone?
This column argues that what the eurozone really needs is not a system which offsets all shocks by some small fraction, but a system which protects against shocks which are rare, but potentially catastrophic.  View Article
ECON Committee: Parliament negotiators rescue seriously damaged bank resolution system
EP negotiators have reached a deal with their Member State counterparts on the SRM to deal with failing banks. The elements agreed will help to ensure that the system cannot become a hostage to political power games, and can deliver swift and credible decisions. (Includes Barroso, Barnier and EP group comments.)  View Article
Commissioner Barnier: Reaching an agreement on the SRM is our top priority
At the exchange of views with the ECON Committee, Barnier said that agreements on the SRM, access to a basic bank account and information on packaged investment products could still be reached within the present Parliament's mandate.  View Article
Greens/Giegold: Germany is hindering progression on SRM
In an interview with Zeit, Giegold was asked who should pay in future if a bank goes bankrupt in Europe. "The banks, and not the state", he replied. "But the Federal Government is preventing this from becoming reality."  View Article
FT: France and Germany in dispute over who pays for EU Banking Union
France and Germany disagree over who should foot the bill for Europe's Banking Union, with Paris fearing its banks will pay the biggest share towards a €55 billion rescue fund.  View Article
Huertas & Nieto: How much is enough? The case of the Resolution Fund in Europe
By placing a lid on the Resolution Fund, the BRRD and SRM may in fact be reinforcing the need to develop a blueprint that will ensure that investors, not taxpayers, bear the cost of bank failures.  View Article
Wolfgang Münchau: Europe should say no to a flawed Banking Union
To sacrifice important principles and hope for the best is not a sensible idea, comments Münchau in his FT column.  View Article
ECON Committee: Barnier and Nouy talk Banking Union and bank bonuses with MEPs
Work on setting up the EU's bank supervisor and undertaking the planned asset quality review is "well on track", ECB bank supervisor chair Nouy told the ECON Committee. She also said she was keen to encourage non-eurozone states to opt-in to the SSM.  View Article
ECB/Cœuré: Monetary policy transmission and bank deleveraging
Deleveraging is not a process that policy-makers should seek to avoid; rather, it needs to take place and be properly managed, said Cœuré. He elaborated on the comprehensive assessment, and stressed the importance of establishing the SRM and the SRF promptly to avoid financial fragmentation.  View Article
IMF: The regulatory responses to the global financial crisis - Some uncomfortable questions
This paper identifies current challenges for creating stable yet efficient financial systems using lessons from recent and past crises. Given the likely inability to prevent all future financial crises, there is a need to enhance crisis management and resolution as part of the ongoing reform agenda.  View Article
Z/Yen: Latest Global Financial Centres Index
The latest Z/Yen report indicates that London has been knocked off the top spot and is now ranked 2nd in the International Financial Centres league table. TheCityUK's Chris Cummings says this should be 'a strong wake-up call for Europe's policymakers', as London is Europe's financial centre.  View Article

Economic

TheCityUK: New report highlights how financial services can help boost the European economy
The report aims to help set the growth agenda for the next mandate of the European Parliament and Commission. It calls on policymakers to foster a regulatory climate that harnesses the full potential of the financial services industry to deliver jobs and growth.  View Article
European Commission: TTIP - Fourth round of talks ends in Brussels
EU and US negotiating teams discussed the three pillars of a future agreement - market access, the regulatory cluster and the 'rules' issues. However, in a potential stumbling block, Germany is insisting that any pact must exclude a contentious dispute settlement provision. (Includes S&D/AmCham comments.)  View Article
FTT: German-French plan may tax derivatives from start; EU legal opinion opens door on forex
Germany and France are moving towards a joint proposal on a European financial transaction levy and are considering taxing derivatives from the start, German lawmakers have said. A legal opinion from EU lawyers says that, in principle, the FTT could include foreign exchange deals.   View Article

Member State events

Troika statement on the review mission to Greece - Greek coalition aims to secure next bailout tranche
After seven months of negotiations, teams from the EC, ECB and IMF have reached staff-level agreement with the authorities on policies that could serve as the basis for completion of the review. The Eurogroup and the IMF are expected to consider approval of the review in the coming weeks.  View Article
IIF: Greece - Fourth time lucky on the fifth review?
Greece and the Troika have been unable in three attempts to complete the fifth review of the EU-IMF programme. However, agreement will have to be reached later in the year for debt service to continue without interruption.  View Article
EU issues €2.6 billion 10-year bond for Ireland and Portugal
This will be lent onwards to Ireland (€0.8 billion) and to Portugal (€1.8 billion), as part of their financial assistance programmes. For Ireland, it is the last EFSM disbursement under the programme. For Portugal, only one further disbursement is now outstanding.   View Article
Germany will support Portugal's bailout exit decision
Germany will support Portugal in its forthcoming decision on how to exit its bailout programme, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, adding that she expected a decision from Lisbon soon, partly because confidence in the eurozone was growing.  View Article
Bundesbank/Weidmann: External imbalances in the euro area - Germany's role
Weidmann said that Germany's role as a capital exporter was unlikely to change, meaning that, to a certain extent, German surpluses were 'here to stay'. Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Finance published details of the government draft of the 2014 federal budget.  View Article
Telegraph: David Cameron - My seven targets for a new EU
The UK Prime Minister set out his agenda for renegotiating Britain's EU membership ahead of European elections in May.  View Article
OECD: Czech Republic is recovering, but more must be done to jump-start income convergence with euro area countries
The Czech economy is finally coming out of a prolonged recession but must take further steps to speed up income convergence towards the euro area countries, according to the OECD's latest Economic Survey of the Czech Republic.   View Article
IMF: Finland—Concluding statement for the 2014 Article IV consultation
Finland's strong economic record has stalled, with the economy in recession for three of the last five years, largely because of a challenging external environment and structural weaknesses.   View Article





© Graham Bishop

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