Europe banking union plans raises concerns in Britain
Britain has welcomed the European Commission move towards setting up a common "banking union" across the eurozone as a "positive step in tackling the problem of 'too big to fail' in the banking sector", but is not keen to be a part of the exercise.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4, British finance minister George Osborne said on Thursday, "There is no way that Britain is going to be part of any euro zone banking union. I think Britain will require certain safeguards if there is a full-blown banking union."
The European Commission Wednesday said its proposed new regulatory framework would allow central authorities to take "decisive" action before a bank gets into trouble and spare taxpayers from being forced to bear bailout burden.
The UK is pressing EU to take a series of steps including setting up a larger bailout fund, euro bonds and structural reform within the 27-nation region, to allow for greater fiscal burden-sharing between the poorest and wealthiest countries.
Speaking ahead of British Prime Minister David Cameron's meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin to discuss the euro zone crisis, UK Chancellor Osborne urged the eurozone to use its bailout fund to recapitalise Spain's banks - but said he did not know how swiftly eurozone leaders would reach an agreement on the issue as he was "not directly party to these discussions".
"I am optimistic they are working hard on solution and I think a solution is coming," said the chancellor. "It is in our interest that we help the eurozone to take the right decision."
Source: Britain News.Net
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