VIENNA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The finance ministers of the 19 Eurogroup states convened here on Friday for informal talks on a range of topics including bad banks, the Austria Press Agency reported.
President of the Eurogroup and Portuguese Finance Minister Mario Centeno said discussions around the issue of bad banks include whether or not the eurozone's bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), could be used as a common backstop (or last resort insurance) for the fund used to wind down bad banks, the Single Resolution Fund (SRF).
Centeno said the important question in this issue is when this capacity should be activated, and whose decision it is to do so.
Plans currently in place see the mechanism coming into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, though it was noted that the Eurogroup is presently pushing for an earlier implementation.
The ministers also confirmed that several other issues related to a deepening of the currency union will be discussed in the lead-up to the European Council summit in mid-December, when concrete proposals are to be put forth.
These include the winding down of bad banks, deposit guarantees, and the eurozone budget.
