CER/Bruegel launch of 'Europe's banking union at ten: Unfinished yet transformative'

To launch 'Europe's banking union at ten: Unfinished yet transformative' by Nicolas Véron, Senior Fellow, Bruegel & Peterson Institute for International Economics

Europe's banking union became a reality in 2014 with the empowerment of the European Central Bank (ECB) as banking supervisor. Ten years on, the project remains unfinished, as European countries can still leverage their domestic banking sectors to serve their special interests and the intervention framework for banking crises continues to be an awkward mix of national and EU authorities and instruments.

But the achievements of even this incomplete banking union have been impressive. The decision on ECB banking supervision, made in mid-2012, was crucial for the eventual resolution of the euro-area crisis. The subsequent decade of supervisory practice appears to have been highly successful, meeting its objectives of banking-system safety and soundness. Still, Europe pays a high price for its reluctance to finish the work. Nicolas' book explores the genesis, implementation and possible future completion of this major policy endeavour.