German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated her view on Friday that the European Central Bank should take on a bigger role in supervising Europe's banks to help tackle the debt and banking crisis engulfing the euro zone.
Merkel has been critical of previous "stress tests" for banks conducted by the European Banking Authority (EBA), saying they had been inadequate because they had to rely national authorities that had an interest in playing down the problems at their domestic institutions.
"(Because of past failures) I have to think about how I can get a banking supervision that is not directed by national interests but which is independent. That role could be played for example by the European Central Bank," Merkel told a German business gathering.
The German chancellor also repeated her criticism of euro bonds, or mutualized debt, saying such a move would harm Germany's own interests. She also said the European Court of Justice should be empowered to reject national budgets but added that others in Europe did not share this view.
Source: Reuters