EUROPEAN COMMISSION latest news

Completing the Banking Union and developments in Spain



European citizens and businesses will benefit from the Commission's plans to accelerate the completion of all parts of the Banking Union

Completing the Banking Union

As indicated by President Juncker in his State of the Union addresson 13 September 2017, the Banking Union must be completed if it is to deliver its full potential as part of a strong Economic and Monetary Union and complementary to the Capital Markets Union. The Letter of Intent that followed President Juncker’s State of the Union Address calls for the completion of all aspects of the Banking Union by 2018.

Building on the significant progress already achieved, the Commission set out today an ambitious yet realistic path to ensure agreement on all the outstanding elements of the Banking Union, with risk reduction and risk sharing measures going hand in hand. This comes ahead of the December Euro Summit where completion of the Banking Union will be part of discussions on further deepening the Economic and Monetary Union.

After the financial crisis, the EU institutions agreed to establish a Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and a Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) for banks. While these two pillars are already in place and fully operational, the agreed common backstop to the SRM and a common system for deposit protection have not yet been established. In parallel, there needs to be further progress on risk reduction. The Commission put forward a proposal for a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS) in November 2015 and a banking package with further risk reduction measures in November 2016.

EDIS is essential for the completion of the Banking Union as it would provide stronger and more uniform insurance cover for all retail depositors in the Banking Union, regardless of their geographical location. However, negotiations on these proposals are still ongoing and they have not yet been adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. The Commission has set out some suggestions to facilitate progress.

On the risk reduction side, the Commission now urges the European Parliament and the Member States to quickly move forward with the comprehensive risk-reduction package of 2016. While recognising the current trend of declining levels of non-performing loans, the Commission also suggested new measures to reduce non-performing loans and to help banks diversify their investments in sovereign bonds.

Finally, the Commission also mapped out rapid steps towards a last resort common fiscal backstop, committed to by Member States already in 2013, ensuring the solidity of the system and making sure that the Single Resolution Fund has sufficient resources even in case of several simultaneous major bank resolutions.



State aid case

The Commission today also approved, under EU State aid rules, the Portuguese restructuring plan and support for the sale of Novo Banco. The measures will allow the new private owner to launch its ambitious restructuring plan aimed at ensuring the long-term viability of the bank, while limiting distortions to competition. The sale of Novo Banco, concerned by today's decision, completes the 2014 resolution of Banco Espírito Santo.



Developments in Spain

The College briefly discussed the situation in Spain and reiterated its earlier call for the full respect of the Spanish Constitutional order.

Commission report highlights the importance of EU Cohesion policyThe European Commission published today the 7th Cohesion report

The European Commission published today the 7th Cohesion report, taking the pulse of EU regions, drawing lessons from cohesion spending during the crisis years and setting the scene for Cohesion Policy after 2020.

Analysing the current state of the EU's economic, social and territorial cohesion, the Cohesion report shows that Europe's economy is bouncing back but disparities persist between and within our Member States.

Without pre-empting the final proposal of the Commission on Cohesion policy after 2020 , the report suggests that Cohesion Policy should keep on investing in all EU regions and focus on three main purposes:

• Harnessing globalisation, by supporting economic transformation in regions, innovation, industrial modernisation, and technology uptake;
• Leaving no one behind, by tackling unemployment, investing in skills and business development while fighting social exclusion and discrimination;
• Supporting structural reforms, as improving public administration boosts competitiveness, growth and maximise the impact of investments.

In addition, the report sets out options for the future implementation mechanism of the policy. There is consensus that more flexibility within a stable framework and simplified rules are needed.

A public consultation on the future Cohesion Policy will be launched in early 2018. In May 2018, the Commission's proposal for the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) will be presented, followed by the proposals for Cohesion Policy after 2020.

President Juncker at the EU-India Summit






EU-India Summit reviews progress in many areas of the bilateral relationship and agrees to timely relaunch talks


European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker attended the 14th Summit between the European Union and India in New Delhi, marking 55 years of diplomatic relations between the world's two largest democracies.

The Summit provided an opportunity for leaders to take stock of EU-India cooperation across the full spectrum of cooperation, including tackling global challenges, the economic relationship, and sectoral cooperation.

A number of substantial, concrete deliverables were agreed by the leaders at the Summit, and are detailed in a Joint Summit Statement. Joint statements on combatting terrorism; on clean energy and climate change; and on smart and sustainable urbanisation were also adopted.

President Juncker said after the Summit: "We agreed that we should take our trading relationship to the next level. It is high time for a Free Trade Agreement between India and the EU. Once the circumstances are right – and only once the circumstances are right – we will resume. Today's Summit is an important step in the right direction and after hearing Prime Minister Modi I am confident we can move forward. Our chief negotiators will next sit down in November to chart a way forward."

On Trade and investment, leaders expressed their shared commitment to strengthening the economic partnership between the EU and India and to achieving the full potential of this aspect of our relationship. There are efforts on both sides to re-engage actively towards a timely relaunch of the negotiations for a comprehensive and mutually-beneficial Free Trade Agreement. The leaders also reaffirmed the centrality of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the importance of enhancing free, fair and open trade for achieving sustainable growth and development. Summit leaders welcomed the recent launch of the Investment Facilitation Mechanism for EU investments in India, which will facilitate and encourage EU investments by providing concrete on-the-spot support to EU companies intending to invest there, in particular by providing procedural guidance.

On Energy and Climate Change, leaders demonstrated their shared responsibility and determination to take the lead in global efforts to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. Both sides confirmed their commitments under the Paris Agreement and agreed to step up cooperation in the implementation of climate action commitments, green cooling, solar pumping, energy storage, electric mobility and renewables, in order to enhance implementation of the Agreement.

The Joint Declaration on a Partnership for Smart and Sustainable Urbanisation adopted at the Summit sets out the priorities and objectives for enhanced cooperation between both sides in urban development over the years ahead. The Partnership will create new opportunities for cooperation between our respective local and regional authorities. It will build on the experience of the Urban Agenda for the EU and India's flagship Smart Cities Mission programme.

The Joint Statement on combatting terrorism marks another step up in the common fight against terrorism. Considerable progress has been made in recent months, including through the regular counter-terrorism dialogue, and the joint statement aims to enhance cooperation in the prevention and countering of terrorism, violent extremism and radicalisation, the disruption of the recruitment of Foreign Terrorist Fighters, sources of terrorist financing, and the supply of arms to terrorists.

Leaders also expressed their shared commitment to strengthen cooperation on migration and refugees, including under the United Nations process towards adopting Global Compacts for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and on Refugees. Both sides agreed to further enhance joint efforts towards the implementation of the EU-India Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility.

After the Summit, President Juncker delivered the keynote speech at the EU-India Business Forum. President Juncker said: "I am more convinced than ever that India and the European Union, beacons of democracy and tolerance, must shape the world together.[…] We are ready to help India achieve its ambitions, and we are counting on India that India will reach its ambitions. The benefits will be mutual. The opportunity should be seized."