18 March 2014

Commissioner Barnier: Reaching an agreement on the SRM is our top priority

Translated from the French

From the Commission's point of view, there are three legislative processes that must yet be concluded in the coming weeks: 

1. The Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM),
2. access to a basic bank account, and
3. the specific information on so-called "packaged" investment products.

Barnier also mentioned the proposals he hoped to advance in order to resume legislative work under the best conditions after the new Parliament has been elected, and discussed the implementation of Level 2 measures of one of our major achievements: CRD IV.

Banking Union - our absolute priority

"Our top priority is to reach an agreement on the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM). The Banking Union will not function properly in the absence of a Single Resolution Mechanism that is linked to European supervision. We have sufficient evidence and ideas to find a balanced compromise between the co-legislators and at the trialogue tomorrow.

On the role of European institutions, I share the opinion of Parliament that considers the current solution as too complex and the role of the Council as too large given the clout of the plenary governance Board. The Council's role should be limited to a veto on a proposal from the Commission, in two cases:

• When the Council considers that the resolution measures proposed by the Board are not in the public interest, and
• when the Commission suggests using a larger proportion of the resolution fund than proposed by the Board.

As regards the financing of the mechanism, it is essential that we put in place a credible Single Resolution Fund (SRF), with access to sufficient resources from the first day. I therefore support the Presidency's proposal to adapt the wording of article 69 of the Parliament's text. This would mean that the Regulation included a requirement for the Board to provide the Fund with the necessary funding.

Finalise the "consumer" component of our action

Two consumer related proposals are still in trialogue. On the one hand there is KIDIP, on the other hand the proposal for a directive to provide access for all Europeans to a basic payment account. Regarding KIDIP, an agreement was reached on key points such as investment-related insurance products, the format of the disclosure document and intervention powers of EIOPA, and I am convinced that the outstanding issues can be resolved at the last trialogue expected on the day after tomorrow.

Stabilise non-finalisable texts

For other texts, which we do not have time to examine in trialogue, obtaining an agreement in plenary is fundamental to resume legislative work in the best conditions after the new Parliament has been elected. This applies to the proposal on anti-money laundering thanks to the vote on it last week. I hope this will also be the case for the legislative package on payments after the first plenary session in April, including the revision of the Directive and the Payment Services Regulations on multilateral interchange fees. These texts could then be finalised before the end of the year.

Other proposals can neither be looked at in trialogue during this mandate, nor be agreed upon in plenary. Given the importance of the proposal on benchmarks, I understand the decision of the ECON Committee to postpone the vote until the next legislature. The lack of a sufficient consensus among the political groups would not send a strong message on this subject. I maintain that a broad scope, consistent with the principles of IOSCO, is essential to ensure the robustness, reliability and continuity of the benchmarks in the EU as well as the legal security of their directors and contributors. I remain aware of the urgency of this proposal and I am committed to working with Parliament and the Council to reach agreement on this ambitious text. The question of scope is key: I note that, similar to Libor, risks have been identified for certain indices (e.g. raw materials).

Ensure the implementation of Level 2 measures of CRD IV

The implementation of CRD IV reinforces the strength of the European financial sector while preserving the financing of the real economy. The CRD IV package has come into force on 1 January 2014. The regulatory technical standards (RTS) approved by the Commission are legally consistent, balanced and consistent with the mandate of CRD IV. The projects presented by the EBA, which were very solid, have not been changed by the Commission. If Parliament isn't opposed to the proposed RTS, we can quickly publish regulations requiring banks to implement the rules as soon as possible. In the absence of RTS, banks would have an excuse to do nothing.

Full speech (in French)

© European Commission