The Greek EU presidency has reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament on the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) regulation. "On behalf of the Presidency, I should like to warmly welcome today's agreement on this key element of Europe's banking union. I sincerely hope that it will open the way for approval by both Parliament and Council within the timeframe we have set on account of the forthcoming European elections," said Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras. He added that “This [the agreement] was done in conjunction with the valuable input and contributions by the Chair of the IGC at Ministerial level, Jeroen Dijsselbloem on the aspects of the Single Resolution Fund, which was intrinsic in reaching the overall agreement.

The SRM regulation will be a key element of Europe's future banking union. It will establish a single resolution board, which will have broad powers in cases of bank resolution, and a single resolution fund. Its purpose is to ensure orderly resolution of failing banks while minimising impact on taxpayers and the real economy. It will apply to all banks in the euro area and in those EU countries that choose to participate.