[Check against delivery]
Good morning to each of you connected online and also to those of you gathered at the SRB premises in Brussels.
I want to welcome you all, particularly our speakers. This is only the SRB’s second ever legal conference and I am very pleased to see it growing, thanks to your support.
Thank you for the interest you are showing in the area of banking regulation and resolution in Europe and the legal framework that governs it. I am travelling at the moment, so my apologies for not being there in person.
You are all aware of the most recent developments in the US and in Switzerland. Now, more than ever, it is important we have a clear, workable resolution framework in the Banking Union. As people who are working at the coalface of resolution, day in, day out, we do not always have the time, or rather, take the time, to stand back and think about some of the topics we, or the others, have been confronted with. You will discuss some of them today. I am looking forward to the feedback on some of the topics such as the interplay between bank resolution and national corporate and insolvency law, the links between bank resolution and fundamental rights and the challenges in making cross-border bank resolutions a reality.
You have many excellent speakers taking part today, so I do not wish to take too much of your time, but I want to share a few thoughts. When I was looking at the title of today’s conference - EU and Banking Union Law in a European and Global Context – it got me thinking about the role of our work.
What is the context of EU and Banking Union law in the grand scheme of things?
Europe’s Single Resolution Board and Single Resolution Mechanism, as part of the Banking Union, is one of the tools the EU has developed in order to help promote financial and thus economic stability, while also protecting the taxpayer.
However, all of that must be seen in the context of the project that is the European Union – a project born to ensure peace and stability on our continent. It is a successful project; and all of us have a role to play in ensuring the EU continues.
Your discussions, and your work have a very important role in developing the thinking around EU banking law, in particular about its interaction with the national frameworks.
Because the EU resolution framework is so young, and because of the importance of jurisprudence in creating and developing EU law in general, your work as legal experts is especially important.
You are helping to shape and develop the framework of the SRM and the SSM too. And, we rely on you to interpret and advise on the legal framework, because, our decision-making process is more complex in Europe than in other regions.
Complexity is not necessarily a bad thing, however, it presents its own challenges in a resolution weekend when decisions need to be taken and where time is limited. We have no choice but to be prepared and confident we are taking the right decisions, always within the scope of the law; recent global events show us that we always have to be ready for crisis, and at very short notice.
So, I wish you a successful conference and I look forward to hearing about the main outcomes when I return from Sweden.
Thank you.
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