For nine years, the German government in particular, spurred on by the Sparkassen and Volksbanken, blocked any movement in the EU legislative process for a European Deposit Insurance Scheme, and diplomats from other countries mocked its stubbornness in resisting any form of EU savings protection.

However in Germany, EDIS – like the euro bonds years earlier – became a symbol of Brussels' eagerness to communitise everything and anything.

Now the ECON Committee in Parliament has taken a small step forward. It is certainly no coincidence that it was a Christian Democrat MEP from Austria, of all places, who succeeded in reaching a compromise. After all, the conservatives have particular difficulties with common deposit protection, and Austria is also one of the countries with institutional protection schemes. Othmar Karas is therefore not suspected of having brushed aside the warnings of the regional banks too lightly.

In fact, little has changed as a result of the vote. Not only because the compromise is based on liquidity support – in other words, it is far removed from a full insurance solution. But also because no mandate was given for the trilogue. The Committee must first decide on the next procedural step in the autumn, before negotiations with the Council – which are anything but straightforward – can begin. There is therefore still a long way to go before the so called third Pillar of the Banking Union is finalised – if it happens at all.

Nonetheless the symbolic nature of the vote is significant. Despite the opposition of the largest member state in the Council, and the largest party in the EU Parliament, the EU partners are not giving up. And they certainly have arguments in their favour – even if the Sparkassen and Volksbanken disagree.

In times of crisis, a common risk pool can help allay the concerns of savers in countries with less trust in their banks, relying on the promise that deposits of up to 100,000 euros are protected. If EDIS can prevent even a single run on banks, regional banks in Germany and Austria will also benefit. After all, the financial crisis has shown that bank runs, even if they take place elsewhere in Europe, jeopardise stability, and generate costs that are certainly higher than those associated with joint liquidity assistance for national guarantee funds.