Ecofin agreement reached. There is political agreement on the text for the rules on capital requirements for banks (Basel 3). The consensus was unanimous. The text was further modified to meet the British and Bulgarian reservations on the margin of autonomy of the national authorities to make the requirements "heavier".
For the Deputy Minister of Economy Vittorio Grilli "The agreement reached is crucial" but he did not reserve the right to raise "certain concerns" about the impact that the agreement could have on the functioning of the European common market. «It is an agreement to be managed with care. The boundary between correct regulation and raising obstacles to the common market is very vague », she underlined.
The concerns of the Italian government are above all related to the margin of maneuver left to the member states in deciding capital requirements for national banks, which could create dangerous competition between European lenders. Grilli then concluded his speech by urging "not to jeopardize the common market" and to take into account the concerns raised when the agreement is applied at national level.
