News Summary

• Six EU member states are making another attempt to revive the long-stalled project of a European Capital Markets Union.
• Opponents of deeper financial market integration see it as another layer in the centralization of political power.
• The fiercely contested takeover battle for Commerzbank by Italy’s UniCredit illustrates how sensitive the issue of national banking and capital markets remains within the European context.
• Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the Netherlands are advancing this long-delayed project.