Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-12-16-Speech-2-523"
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"en.20081216.46.2-523"2
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"−
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, today we are closing a very fast process to reform the Deposit Guarantee Directive. The whole procedure demonstrates the capability but also the limitations of the European institutions. It was only in mid-October that the Commission tabled a proposal to amend the directive, which has both a political and an economic objective, namely to restore depositors’ confidence in the financial market, the cross-border activities of banks and the regulation of the financial markets in general.
We have achieved an increase in the level of deposit guarantees, a clear reduction in payout deadlines in case of a crisis and the abolition of joint deposit guarantees. It was unacceptable that large banks were unable to foresee the demise of their own institution and for small depositors to go down with them. We have achieved an increase in the level of deposit guarantees from 2010 to EUR 100 000, which covers 90% of deposits in Europe.
We in the European Parliament played a quick and constructive role in the process. We waived numerous parliamentary rights, but we got things moving. We considered the three-day deadline to be unrealistic from the start. I think that 20 days is a promise that can be kept in practice and will not disappoint depositors.
It was important to re-incorporate small undertakings. In light of the systemic stabilisation of the financial markets, it would have been a fatal signal to only guarantee private deposits. We also saw – and this is particularly important – the need for emergency payouts, because there is a very direct connection between the deposit guarantee scheme and stabilisation measures in institutions, especially in the practical cases that we have witnessed in the past.
The limitations, of which we are obviously aware, lie in introducing as far-reaching an issue as harmonisation into a procedure at such short notice. A whole series of Member States wanted the directive to prevent possible distortions of competition and to set a ceiling for Europe in deposit guarantees. The concern addressed in the inquiry that we attached to this was right, but we should not anticipate the result.
The view that expectations and the political assurance associated with the fact that Member States such as Germany or Ireland are jumping the gun in the financial crisis and promising an unlimited guarantee are problematic and would lead to distortions of competition on the market is only right up to a point, because we have to say quite clearly that these are political promises which are neither enforceable nor indictable.
However, we must ensure that maximum harmonisation does not result in a lowering of the guarantee in individual Member States, which in turn would reinforce distortions of competition on the basis of differences in the financing of the systems. In this respect, it was an astute move to formulate harmonisation on the horizon, in other words that we have formulated a whole series of questions which have to be answered first, because – and I said these are the limitations of the procedure – discussing questions, which we have not been in a position to approach in Europe over the last five years, in a nine-week marathon process is not without its dangers.
I should like once again to express my gratitude for such strong teamwork between the groups in Parliament. Numerous compromises had to be made, but we succeeded in sending out a signal that was important in stabilising the financial markets. We in the European Parliament have also made a substantial contribution in making this very rudimentary draft clear and really useful.
I should like once again to thank everyone who was prepared to waive parliamentary rights in this procedure."@en1
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