Ursula von der Leyen Photo: Xinhua

Ursula von der Leyen is starting on the defensive. Despite her ambition to overhaul the European Union, the new European Commission president is unlikely to persuade Italy and Germany to set aside their differences on common banking rules any time soon. A plan to tax technology giants offers a better chance for the traditional EU rivals to find some common ground.

Among her long list of promises, the former German defense minister has pledged to complete the euro zone's half-baked monetary union. To enable lenders to operate freely across the 19-nation currency bloc, member states first need to agree to common deposit insurance, as well as a fund to handle the cost of bank failures.

Rome and Berlin are in opposite corners. German leaders want Italy to reduce financial risks before signing up to measures that could see euro zone taxpayers share the cost of a future crisis.

Meanwhile, Italian officials object to Berlin-backed suggestions that euro zone sovereign bonds should carry different levels of risk when calculating bank capital requirements. 

It makes sense for von der Leyen to change tack. A more promising idea is a plan to impose a 3 percent levy on the revenue of global tech companies. That would help redress an imbalance which the commission says allows digital players to pay an effective 10 percent corporate tax rate, against 23 percent for brick-and-mortar rivals.

The author is Lisa Jucca, Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The article was first published on Reuters Breakingviews. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn