European Union's Juncker wants euro as leading reserve currency

In a wide-ranging speech on Wednesday, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said the euro should rival the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency, the Financial Times reports. Juncker added that the bloc should not pay for energy imports with U.S. currency.

Why it matters: Juncker wants to limit the EU's financial dependence on the U.S. But, as Axios' Felix Salmon notes, without the European Central Bank's backing of this initiative, nothing like this can move forward. The ECB has remained neutral on this issue.

Clarification: This article has been updated to clarify that Juncker wants the euro to be a reserve currency, and replace the dollar when it comes to big European imports.