Saudi FM calls Indian, Pakistani counterparts to discuss developments    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia cracks down on fraudulent Hajj campaigns, urges pilgrims to use official channels    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    Literature Commission inaugurates Saudi Pavilion at Muscat Book Fair    Saudi Minister of Culture holds talks with his Costa Rican counterpart in Jeddah    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    MHRSD: 80% of recruitment offices are non-compliant with regulations    At least 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza    Teenage girl killed in French school stabbing attack    Trump claims meeting with China after Beijing denies any trade negotiations    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Film Commission launches 'Cinema' initiative to enhance content    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



EU Commission dismisses problems with ECB oversight
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 19 - 10 - 2012

BRUSSELS – The European Central Bank can oversee lenders in a banking union, the EU's top regulatory official said on Thursday, contradicting a report that said a proposed new ECB supervisory structure would be illegal.
The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that one of the European Union's top legal advisers had written an opinion saying the new structure would be “illegal” and that changes would more than likely have to be made to the EU's treaty.
But Reuters has obtained the 12-page opinion from the European Council's legal expert and it does not state that the proposed supervisory authority at the ECB would be against EU law, although it does highlight a series of legal obstacles to establishing it. “The proposal that we have made is legally sound,” said Michel Barnier, the European commissioner responsible for financial regulation and the legislation to establish a banking union.
“I do not see any political obstacles to giving non-euro countries a decisive voice in the single supervisor, if they want to join,” he said in a statement.
“We need to make sure that the final solution is solid from both the political and legal perspective.”
Barnier's remarks came as one of his senior officials dismissed the newspaper report, saying it was wrongly interpreted and out of date.
“Legal issues for the creation of (an) ECB supervision mechanism can all be solved,” Jonathan Faull, the director general of the European Commission division responsible for banking union, said on Twitter.
Another EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the European Commission's legal service had found no major problems with the proposed supervisory structure, and the ECB's legal team was also expected to permit it, he said.
The remarks came as European leaders meet for a two-day summit where they will try to bridge division over a banking union, including plans for a single banking supervisor, a move to resolve one of core problems fuelling the debt crisis.
They will address one of the major obstacles to the project: how to cater for the 10 EU countries that do not use the euro, and allay fears that they could be sidelined or disadvantaged whether they chose to join or stay out of the new structure.
In the document obtained by Reuters, legal experts set out the complications of including a country that does not use the euro in a scheme designed chiefly for the euro zone's 17 members but they do not dispute the legality of the scheme.
Officials do, however, spell out the limitations of the structure of the ECB, which is due to take over the supervision of banks, and the difficulties of fully involving non-euro-zone countries in the central bank's decisions.
The document, prepared by legal advisers in the European Council, the institution that hosts meetings of EU ministers and leaders, addresses one option to accommodate non-euro countries - the creation of a new body within the central bank where regulators from countries outside the euro would have a say.
The experts say this would not breach European Union law, so long as the final decision on supervision remains with the currency bloc's central bank.
One of the concerns of countries outside the euro, such as Hungary, is that it would not receive an equal say in supervisory decisions if it joined the banking union.
The ECB could, for example, demand a euro-zone bank keep back more capital to cover losses, a request that could lead to it reigning in lending in the bank's Hungary arm, with Budapest powerless to oppose.
“There are a lot of banks with links between the euro zone and non-euro-zone countries. A lot of countries, including Germany, really want these other countries to be involved,” said one EU official.
The idea of creating a new body in the central bank has some supporters in the European Parliament, who hope it will encourage the likes of Poland or Sweden to join. – Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.