The heads of the EU's main institutions were given the task of drawing up proposals for closer fiscal coordination in time for another summit next month, including plans that could include a path towards a Europe-wide deposit guarantee scheme and, in the longer term, commonly-backed eurozone bonds.
Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, cautioned that even the June plan would be limited to “building blocks” and “working methods” towards economic integration, and not specific proposals towards a banking union or mutualising eurozone debt. “These ideas on stronger, stricter banking supervision and resolution were only mentioned. We did not have a real discussion on it, but we will work on them in the upcoming weeks”, said Mr Van Rompuy.
Enda Kenny, the Irish prime minister, said there was also “strong support” for using the eurozone’s new €500 billion rescue fund to inject capital directly into teetering banks, a proposal opposed by Germany but considered by many as essential for helping cash-strapped sovereigns shore up their financial sectors.
Most of the session focused on a "growth compact" consisting of ways to spur investment in large-scale infrastructure projects. But even there, no decisions were made on such proposals as injecting €10 billion in new capital into the European Investment Bank. Mr Hollande gained most of the attention by continuing his surprisingly aggressive push for eurozone bonds, making clear his disagreement with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, at a post-summit press conference.
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