|
|
The conclusions agreed by the heads of state or government confirmed the small progress made to deepen the economic and monetary union by completing the banking union and setting up a common fiscal cushion.
The leaders postponed at least until December an agreement on the backstop to resolve ailing banks. The Eurogroup should prepare by then the details of this backstop, which will be financed by the European Stability Mechanism, the EU´s anti-crisis instrument, with around €60 billion.
An agreement on this common pot to orderly wind down banks was seen as the most achievable element of the eurozone agenda.
However, member states disagree on the governance of the instrument. A group of countries led by Germany wants a strong political oversight, which would include the approval of the disbursements by their finance ministers and national parliaments.
European Council President Donald Tusk also expected an agreement by June on the improvement of the ESM to add more anti-crisis tools. But the conclusions also postponed a deal on this issue for December.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that “we want to strengthen ESM and turn it into a kind of European Monetary Fund that will be capable of better predicting crises”.
However, the new ESM would not be named European Monetary Fund, given the ECB’s opposition to including any monetary reference.
Merkel also added that Germany wants “to strengthen the security and convergence of the euro area”.
But she did not elaborate further as most of her comments, and the questions asked by reporters, were devoted to migration, the issue that overshadowed the two-day summit.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the leaders agreed on the need to ensure the stability, convergence and competitiveness of the euro area. But the technical discussions to implement these overarching goals would follow in the coming months.