This would be based on European Union law and enforced by European Union authorities. I add the obvious, on bank regulation: it is now desirable that we stabilise visibility on total capital requirements, adding up from various origins. The smooth transposition of Basel 3 is part of this clarification, including the implementation of the output floor only at consolidated level within the European Union: if not, we will have introduced a new obstacle to cross-border activities within Europe. Together with the Banking Union, a genuine Capital Markets Union (CMU) is essential to strengthening financial integration in Europe: we advocated it strongly with Jens Weidmann, President of the Bundesbank, in a joint paper published yesterday, and it will be a key topic of today’s informal Ecofin, thanks to the Romanian Presidency. Despite some recent achievements, progress on this topic is proving difficult and slow. Let us finally move on from a rhetorical consensus in principle to concrete headways, notably on instruments, access to finance for SMEs, and supervision. In this respect, I welcome the progress achieved on a Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP): this product is portable across member states and offers consumers a wider range of investment opportunities. We should also make progress towards the harmonisation of insolvency regimes. It should facilitate cross-border investment. One of the most challenging issues of the CMU is to provide cheaper and easier access to equity for SMEs in order to support their growth.
The second pillar of European financial sovereignty concerns the efficiency of retail payments and market infrastructure. Regarding retail payments, while the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) has proved to be successful, further convergence is still needed in response to the growing influence of major third countries’ firms in payments solutions. In order to preserve our sovereignty, a European strategy for retail payments would be necessary, with a view to (i) addressing market fragmentation and promoting unified European-based solutions, (ii) improving the protection of payment data and (iii) encouraging European players to take part in the current concentration in retail payments. Regarding infrastructure, the European System of Central Banks shouldered its responsibilities in strengthening European post-trade integration, notably through the Target2Securities platform. In the coming years, the set-up of a unified collateral management platform operated by the Eurosystem will be another key step directly contributing to an effective Capital Markets Union. Moving on to the third pillar, the international role of the euro is a key component of our European financial sovereignty. After a significant rise, the international use of the euro has declined since the financial crises of 2008–2012 and remains limited in comparison with the dollar. The US dollar is a clear advantage in the exercise of American power, while China cares about the internationalisation of the renminbi. A larger use of the euro would help to protect our businesses against foreign exchange risks or legal disputes abroad. In this regard, the concrete measures identified by the European Commission in December are particularly relevant.