President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a press conference at the end of the European Council summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels. Photograph: KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images
One of the main ideas floated on Thursday was the creation of a capital markets union, a proposal that has been knocking around for several years. This would mean moving towards a single EU market governing how capital flows within the bloc. Proponents say the reforms would make it easier for people to put savings into low risk investments, rather than having them sit in a bank account.
While Ireland’s line is that it supports capital market union reforms, draft language initially put forward for agreement at the summit was seen as overly favourable to the French view. The earlier version spoke about allowing more supervision at EU level and “harmonising” national insolvency regimes.