Graham Bishop.com

Graham Bishop: Governance of the SRM - Escalating complexity = inability to act in extreme crisis?
Graham reviews the latest text of the Terms of Reference for the Single Resolution Mechanism. View Article

European Integration Monitor - November 2013
The driving forces of politics, finance, economics and budgets are a powerful cocktail that will intensify in the years ahead. View Article

Plenary Session: Parliament and EU leaders' relations in the run-up to the European elections
The European Council - EU HOSG - should state clearly before the start of the European election campaign how it intends to respect the choice of EU citizens when proposing the new Commission President, to be elected by Parliament, said MEPs in a resolution. View Article

LSE/Warntjen: Rotating Presidency hinders legislative continuity in the Council Presidency of the EU
Warntjen writes that the frequent change of the Council Presidency causes disruption in EU legislative decision-making. An elected, longer-term Presidency for the Council or a stronger role for the Secretary General would probably increase the continuity of the Council's legislative work. View Article

Jean-Claude Piris: The five crises in Europe and the future of the EU
Writing for E!Sharp, Piris says it would be wise, both for political and for legal reasons, to consider how it would be possible to strengthen the legal and political foundations of the eurozone. He suggests two possible ways to do this. View Article

David Lidington MP: It's time for national Parliaments to give the EU Commission the red card
If the EU is to reconnect with people across Europe, it needs to be brought back under proper democratic control, writes the UK's minister for Europe. View Article

EIM Political - November 2013
The 'end of term' feeling is spreading rapidly through the polity of the European Union. The probable departees are burnishing their legacy and the 'continuers' are laying the foundations for the next phase. View Article

Plenary Session: European Central Bank - "Independence without democratic scrutiny is dangerous"
In the annual plenary debate on the ECB's activities with its President Mario Draghi, the ECB was urged to do still more for the real economy. (Includes link to Draghi speech.) View Article

ECB/Draghi: Money and monetary institutions after the crisis
Draghi said central banks should focus on what they are mandated to achieve, which is price stability over the medium term. He also stressed that the actions undertaken by the ECB did not represent a departure from the ECB's mandate. (Includes comments from EP hearing on the ECB's Annual Report) View Article

ECB/Mersch: Euro area monetary policy - Where we stand
Mersch explained the current economic situation and monetary policy and discussed some of the issues that have emerged from the public debate on the risks and side effects of this policy over the past year. View Article

ECB/Cœuré: The Future of Europe - Building on our strengths
Cœuré said the crisis had raised some fundamental questions about Europe and the future of the euro area. It was time to go back to first principles and complete the original vision: an economic and monetary union based on price stability. View Article

Bundesbank/Dombret: Global currency blocs - Is the euro a burden or a competitive advantage?
Dombret said the euro would only remain a stable and trustworthy currency in a global stable currency system if all countries contributed to this goal. View Article

ELEC: Newly regulated financial sector to support an economic upturn in Europe?
ELEC's Central Council approved a resolution pointing out ways to reinforce the contribution of a restored financial sector to the economic upturn in Europe. View Article

BDI/MEDEF: Strengthening the European monetary union - A call to the European Council
Prior to the Council meeting on 19/20 December, the Federation of German Industry and the Movement of the Enterprises of France have proposed three key objectives to the German and French governments, in order to stabilise the eurozone in the long term. View Article

Simon Nixon: What Europe really needs is a Bankruptcy Union
Few measures would transform the investment landscape of Southern Europe as much as a European version of the US Chapter 11, observes Nixon in this WSJ article. View Article

LSE/Smeets: EU summit meetings have had little effect on financial markets during crisis
Smeets assesses the effect of the HOSG crisis meetings on Member States' sovereign bond yields, stock market indices and the exchange rate of the common currency, but finds limited impact. View Article

Launch of IMF-Staff Book "From Fragmentation to Financial Integration in Europe"
José Viñals, Financial Counsellor and Director of the IMF, spoke on financial stability and risks of fragmentation of the financial markets. At the same event, ECB VP Constâncio called for the resolution authority to decide on burden-sharing. View Article

EIM Financial - November 2013
The details of the driving forces that will re-shape Europe's post-crisis financial system are steadily emerging from the soup of day-to-day discussions on Banking Union. View Article

ECOFIN Council ready to conclude negotiations with Parliament on banking sector rules (BRRD/DGS)
EU finance ministers adjusted the Council's negotiating position on the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive and on the Directive on Deposit Guarantee Schemes. Chair Šadžius said he believed agreement would be reached by the end of the year. View Article

Commissioner Barnier's remarks on BRRD, SRM, DGS and Volcker law
Barnier welcomed the trilogue agreement on the framework for bank recovery and resolution, and expressed optimism that a compromise could be reached on the resolution and deposit guarantee directives in the coming days. He congratulated the US regulators on implementing the Volcker law. View Article

FT: Banking Union framework set out by EU ministers, key questions remain unanswered
The ECOFIN Council meeting produced a draft compromise, broadly based on Germany's revised position, which sets out how eurozone countries cede power to a central bank resolution authority and establish a common funding network. View Article

ESM/Regling: Interview with the Irish Examiner
Regling was quizzed i.a. on the future development of the EU/ESM and Banking Union. On the Single Resolution Fund, he said he saw 'some merit' in the ESM becoming a backstop. View Article

Bloomberg: Dijsselbloem seeks EU bank failure breakthrough by dividing plan
Dijsselbloem has suggested splitting up an EU proposal for dealing with troubled banks. The idea could allow EU finance ministers to move beyond deadlock on the proposed SRM. View Article

IRSG publishes Principles for the RRD
In its report, 'Recovery and Resolution Directive: Principles for delivering clarity for market participants', the International Regulatory Strategy Group highlights its key concerns. View Article

ECOFIN Council results: Macro-economic imbalances / AMR / AGS / Economic partnership programmes
The Council took note of the presentation by the Commission of its alert mechanism report, as well as its annual growth survey. It also took note of a report from the ECON Committee on the coordination of economic policies and reforms. View Article

ECOFIN Council results: Taxation
The Council's discussion confirmed broad support for the draft directive aimed at strengthening EU rules on the taxation of savings income. However, Luxembourg and Austria maintained reservations. (Includes link to Commissioner Šemeta statement.) View Article

ECON backs Bowles on tax transparency for all large EU firms
The ECON Committee has voted for far-reaching proposals to make large EU firms more transparent in how they pay tax around the globe. View Article

UK Parliament: FTT proposal 'unjustified and misconceived'
Proposals for a Financial Transaction Tax, to be implemented by a 'breakaway' group of the EU, could significantly damage the UK and the rest of the EU, a Lords committee has found. View Article

IMF/Lagarde: Outlook for Europe - Boosting growth and employment
Speaking at the EESC, Lagarde highlighted four key priorities to achieve growth and employment: improving credit flows; providing demand support; addressing debt burdens; and fostering job-friendly labour and product markets. View Article

Eurogroup: IMF confirms euro area's improving growth prospects
The Eurogroup was in broad agreement with the IMF's assessment of the recent developments and challenges facing the euro area. Ministers welcomed the final review of the Irish programme and endorsed the second review of the Cypriot programme. (Includes VP Rehn statement.) View Article

OECD: Improved multi-level governance key to tackling widening regional inequalities and ensuring inclusive recovery
The economic crisis has hit certain regions and cities harder than others in the OECD area, calling for better regional policies across levels of governments to foster an inclusive and sustainable recovery, according to two new OECD reports. View Article

EIM Economic - November 2013
November witnessed a barrage of economic forecasts and policy prescriptions from the European Commission. View Article

EIM Budgetary - November 2013
Welding the euro area into a single economy stepped up a vital gear as the '2-pack' was launched and the Fourth European Semester got underway. View Article

Work programme for the Eurogroup for the first half of 2014
The Eurogroup should continue to play a key role in the strengthened surveillance framework applicable to euro area Member States, ensuring a stable and robust euro area and overall policy coherence. View Article

Eurogroup statement on Cyprus: Next tranche of financial assistance approved
The Eurogroup endorsed the second review of the programme, saying the programme was well on track. The completion of the review will unlock a disbursement of €100 million from the ESM and €86 million from the IMF. (Includes link to Dijsselbloem statement.) View Article

Kathimerini: No troika deal in December as Greece falls behind with bailout pledges
Commission spokesperson Simon O'Connor said that although troika inspectors were due to return to Athens this week, negotiations would not have a chance of concluding until January at the earliest. However, finance Minister Yannis Stournaras is more optimistic. View Article

Eurogroup endorses 12th and final review of Irish adjustment programme
The final EFSM disbursement of €0.8 billion and final IMF disbursement of €0.6 billion will be decided over the next few days by the Commission and the IMF Executive Board, respectively. (Includes comments by VP Rehn and link to President Dijsselbloem statement.) View Article

EFSF financial assistance for Ireland ends with successful Irish exit
On 4 December, the EFSF disbursed €2.27 billion in the final instalment of its financial assistance programme for Ireland. The EFSF still has a responsibility to creditors to ensure they recover their loans, and CEO Klaus Regling said he would be keeping a close eye on the Irish budget. View Article

IMF: Italy - Detailed assessment of observance of Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision
Italy is the first country to be assessed under the revised Basel Core Principles approved by the Basel Committee in September 2012. This report reflects the regulatory and supervisory framework in place as of the date of the completion of the assessment. View Article

Wolfgang Münchau: A perilous time to switch Italy's voting system
An extensive discussion about electoral changes will hinder economic reform, comments Münchau in his FT column. View Article

Merkel's CDU approves German coalition deal
At this week's party conference, 165 CDU delegates formally approved the grand coalition agreement with the SPD, with two abstentions. If the SPD now approves the deal, Merkel is likely to be sworn in as Chancellor for the new legislative term next Tuesday. View Article

Bundesbank: Outlook for the German economy - Macro-economic projections for 2014 and 2015
The Bundesbank's monthly report finds that the German economy has picked up momentum again. The German economy could grow by 1.7 per cent in the coming year and by 2.0 per cent in 2015. View Article

German Council of Economic Experts: Executive summary of the Annual Economic Report 2013/14
The German Council of Economic Experts released an English translation of the executive summary of the Annual Economic Report 2013/14. The summary provides an overview of the key points related to the main policy areas. View Article

CEPS/Gros: Germany as scapegoat
Germany has been an attractive target for external deficit countries in Europe and beyond, but beating up on Germany alone appears to be the wrong way to get results. View Article

Reuters: 'War game' highlights risks of Britain's EU exit
Britain's renegotiation of its EU ties risks starting a chain of events that could lead to the 28-nation bloc's paralysis or disintegration, politicians and analysts say. View Article

Policy Network: Britain's financial services industry in a changing Europe
A Policy Network Report for the City of London Corporation finds that financial services are the focal point of the debate about Britain's future in the EU. The position of the City as the main financial services centre in Europe has become uncertain. View Article

EDP for Poland: Insufficient action taken, ECOFIN Council issues new recommendation
The Council adopted a decision deeming action taken by Poland to correct its excessive deficit to be insufficient and extending the deadline for correction to 2015. Separately, the Commission announced that it would present a draft decision and recommendation for the opening of an EDP for Croatia. View Article

Statements by Eurogroup President Dijsselbloem and VP Rehn on Slovenia
Dijsselbloem issued a statement on Slovenia's situation, following the publication of the independent assessment of the health and resilience of the Slovenian banking sector. VP Rehn said that Slovenia would be able to proceed with the repair of its financial sector without financial assistance. View Article

Commission staff conclude fourth post-programme surveillance mission to Hungary
Commission officials conducted a mission to Hungary to review recent developments and policy initiatives in the context of post-programme surveillance linked to EU balance of payments assistance between 2008 and 2010. They welcomed the recent improvements in the macro-economic situation. View Article

Bank of Denmark/Rohde: Reflections on Denmark's sixth bank rescue package / Banking Union
Rohde said that Danmarks Nationalbank welcomed the agreement and was also following the negotiations on Banking Union closely. He felt it was important that euro area and non-euro area Member States were able to participate on equal terms. View Article

Integrating Europe

12 December 2013

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