- José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission
European leaders agreed that the European Central Bank will be a new supervisor for eurozone banks starting from January 1, a step that will help the region's bailout fund to inject cash directly into struggling banks. The ECB will have the power to intervene in any of the region's 6,000 banks, while direct recapitalization of banks will help to solve problem of countries with weak public finances, such as Spain.
"We need to definitively break the link between bank debt and sovereign debt," said José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission. "Speed matters."
"There are complicated questions to clarify and we'll see in December if we complete it or not," Merkel told reporters after a two-day European Union summit in Brussels wrapped up today. "For now, the political will is there."
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index erased 0.76 per cent to 274.08. Germany's DAX Index fell 0.76 per cent to 7,380.64 and France's CAC 40 Index declined 0.87 per cent to 3,504.56.
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