The European Council and Banking Union: European Council in Action

Briefing 04-02-2016

The first permanent European Council President, Herman Van Rompuy, considered the June 2012 meeting to be 'the most important European Council' of his five-year term. At that meeting, euro-area leaders committed themselves to launching what is the most ambitious EU project since the introduction of the single currency – the Banking Union. The European Council not only provided the impetus to establish a Banking Union but EU leaders have also regularly monitored the progress being made. In the coming years, a number of challenges remain for the fine-tuning and completion of the Banking Union, and these could potentially require the European Council's further involvement.