Schäuble to Schultz: Do not slow down the banking union

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble calls on the European Parliament not to slow the banking union so it can be adopted at the beginning of next year, in an interview in the Sunday edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

"I am very happy about what has been decided for the banking union. Now is the European Parliament’s turn to take responsibility so that we can complete the European legislation before the next elections in May 2014," Schäuble added.

European finance ministers ended up Wednesday night in a major agreement for the banking union, in order to avoid a new crisis in the Eurozone. This agreement will allow the creation of a single decision mechanism in charge of organizing the eventual bankruptcy of Eurozone banks.

However, the German Parliament President Martin Schulz promised "very lengthy negotiations" with MEPs on Thursday, considering the relevant text as "disturbing" and "far away" from the expectations of European parliamentarians.

Schultz was particularly critical of the complexity of the proposed mechanism: Creation of a common fund to be financed by banks and in turn will finance any liquidations, and a "Decision Authority" empowered to take decisions that will be subjected to national government judgments as a last resort.

For Schultz, it would be "unacceptable" for the European Parliament to lose its legislative prerogatives in favor of a purely intergovernmental organization.