Though Eurozone leaders have agreed to work towards a banking union that would round up European banks under a single supervisor, the timetable for such a venture is still unclear.

The so-called "Europe Ministers" from France, Germany and Poland met yesterday in Warsaw and confirmed reports that they were ready to act "swiftly" in order to put the single supervisor in place.

The joint statement from the representatives noted that the EU summit on October 18th would identify what work needs to be done to pave the road for the banking union.

However, reporters grilling these ministers left it clear that many issues were involved and the definition of "swiftly" might not be what one would think.

"I can state with full certainty that this (establishment of joint supervision) will not happen in January 2013 because there are too many technical issues, too many expert issues that need to be clarified," said Germany's Europe Minister, Michael Link.

His French counterpart, Bernard Cazeneuve, pushed the date much further back: "We are encouraging the European Commission to create the supervision by the end of 2013," he said.

JM

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