Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-12-16-Speech-2-526"
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"en.20081216.46.2-526"2
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"Mr President, in this matter, Commissioner, I believe that you can be very pleased that the European Parliament exists. This is firstly because, a few months ago, we adopted another report prepared by Mr Ehler. On that occasion, I said to you that the crisis into which the European Union had clearly entered was forcing us to reconsider this issue, even before the outcome of all the impact studies that you had planned. It needed the Council to give you the order to act, and I regret that, but that is how it was. I also regret that, after the country from which you originate introduced a system which very nearly destroyed your mandate, namely the internal market, you did not speak in public.
Let us not focus on the past, however, but rather look to the future and to the proposal that is now on the table. It is a reasonable proposal which is appropriate in the circumstances and I warmly thank the rapporteur for his drive and determination to allow us to reach agreement at first reading. This has ensured maximum harmonisation, which meets the expectations of our citizens who, faced with the reality of this crisis, are worried that this deposit guarantee scheme could prove tough on their savings, whether these are large or small and whether we are talking about local authorities or small and medium-sized enterprises.
I am delighted that we have reached agreement with the Council to extend the scope of the directive, which the Commission wanted to limit to individuals only, even though SMEs and local authorities are also clearly concerned about the guarantee of their deposits.
I am also delighted that we have achieved this maximum harmonisation of EUR 50 000 today and EUR 100 000 tomorrow, with a commitment from the Commission, no doubt for the successor of Mr McCreevy, to allow us to assess the conditions under which we could harmonise even further, and eventually set up a European guarantee fund. There is clearly a concern about the risks of distortion in terms of competition, but it is not just a question of concern, and on this I believe that the rapporteur will agree with me. There is also an opportunity for the European Union to manage the crisis, to avoid panic and to guarantee the rights of depositors. It seems to me that this was clearly the main concern for the European Parliament.
I have one regret in these negotiations, which is that, as regards the basics, we have learnt lessons from the bad example of Ireland, but we have not learnt lessons from the bad example of Iceland. In Iceland too much interest was promised on deposits, which forced the European Union to engage in negotiations with that country to cover the guarantees over and above the interest rates that could be applied under normal market conditions. However, based on the report that the Commission will forward to us, I hope that we can take these negotiations further, while also bearing in mind the conclusions that the group, for which the Commission has entrusted responsibility to Jacques de Larosière, may give us on the way to organise this mechanism in a harmonised manner in future."@en1
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