European Union nations have agreed to grant the European Central Bank supervisory power over the euro zone's major financial institutions.The move was widely reported as the first step towards a "European banking union" that could make it easier to deal with failing European banks.Finance ministers from the EU's 27 nations agreed to give the ECB French supervisory authority over more than 150 of the Eurozone's biggest banks rom 2014.The ECB will also be able to direct national banking supervisors to take action, and will set day-to-day operating procedures for Eurozone banking supervisors. The German government appears to have dropped its opposition to the agreement after arrangements were crafted that will shield German regional banks from interference.