European stocks dropped as Germany and France disagreed on when to introduce a banking union for the 17-nation single currency.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected French President Francois Hollande’s appeal to activate oversight of the banking union “the earlier, the better.” Deadlock over regulation may delay into next year a key building block in resolving the single currency’s debt crisis.

Speaking at a meeting on Sept. 22 near Ludwigsburg, Germany, Merkel said that the proposed banking union “has to be thorough, the quality has to be good and then we’ll see how long it takes.”

Anglo American retreated 2.6 percent to 1,888 pence after Bank of America Corp. downgraded the commodity producer to neutral from buy.

Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest mining company, dropped 1.3 percent to 3,002 pence as copper fell, following its first weekly drop in three on the London Metal Exchange.

Syngenta AG gained 0.9 percent to 347.10 Swiss francs after the world’s largest agrochemicals company increased its target for sales in 2020 by $3 billion as it accelerates the introduction of new technology and benefits from a reorganization.

FTSE 100 5,819.68 -32.94 -0.56%

CAC 40 3,486.32 -44.40 -1.26%

DAX 7,402.45 -49.17 -0.66%