􀂄 Banking Union is widely seen as necessary to overcome the
disintegration of the euro area financial sector since the beginning of the
financial crisis. It is also seen as a key building block for a more stable
and sustainable EMU.

􀂄 To shorten the time of crisis management and create a solid base for
EMU as fast as possible the European Council established an ambitious
time table for the creation of banking union, with the official launch set
for the beginning of the new year.

􀂄 At their meeting on 12 December Finance Ministers agreed on a structure
for a central banking supervisory mechanism for the euro area. However,
it will take at least until March 2014 for the new supervisory mechanism
to become operational and important questions, such as the structure for
a common bank resolution mechanism, still remain open.

􀂄 It will not be easy and may well take more than the envisaged 15 months
to put the agreement into practice. It is likely to take even considerably
longer until a full Banking Union has been established.