Finance Minister Makis Keravnos on Wednesday warned against possible fragmentation of the European Union, with six of his counterparts set to hold a private meeting on Thursday aiming to loosen financial regulations in Europe and allow the continent to compete with the United States’ financial sector.
Thursday’s meeting will see the finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain – known as the E6 – convene in Berlin, but Keravnos warned that the meeting, and a possible splintering of the EU, could undermine the bloc’s unity.
“I don’t think a separate structure is feasible, because it would conflict with the prevailing perception in all member states today that fragmentation must stop,” he told news website Politico.
He added that instead of splintering, “we need to unify the banking system, the capital markets, and so on”.
“The six countries, which are the driving forces of the European economy, support market integration,” he said, before stressing that as such, they must continue to include all member states in their plans.
“Otherwise, it would be a step backward,” he said.
Despite Keravnos’ warnings, members of the E6 have previously called for a “two-speed” Europe, with an inner circle pursuing greater integration and a more active role in European decision making, and an outer circle linked, but not integral, to the greater European project.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said after an E6 videoconference in January that “now is the time for a Europe of two speeds”, and that “to survive in an increasingly unpredictable geopolitical situation, Europe must become stronger and more resilient.
The E6 countries, he added, want to be the drivers of Europe.
“We are providing momentum, others can join. What matters is strengthening our competitiveness and our defence capability,” he said, before promising that the six would meet again to discuss further plans to strengthen the Euro, further integrate the six’s military capabilities, and bring about a “capital markets union”.
Were the “capital markets union” initiative to be completed, investments and savings would be able to flow more easily across the bloc.
The prospect of a “two-speed” Europe has been raised multiple times in recent decades, with it having been suggested that the current 27-member EU and the requirement in many cases for unanimity among member states for policy to be implemented slows down decision-making processes.
However, smaller member states have often warned that the abolition of the principle of unanimity may see them lose their voice in Brussels.
Earlier this year, Cypriot foreign ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis said on this matter that Cyprus wishes to be “as close as possible to the core” of the EU.
“Our aim is to be on the inside as much as possible. We see our future as inside Europe in every aspect, and this is why, for example, we have been doubling our efforts to join the Schengen zone,” he told the Cyprus Mail.
He added that the matter of a “two-speed” Europe should be subject to a wider discussion among member states and the institutions of the EU, and the topic has “multiple aspects, not just the legal side of things”.
