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(Bloomberg) -- European Union officials are urging member countries to set aside long-standing clashes over centralized supervision of capital markets so they can accelerate defense financing.

At a meeting of EU envoys this week, a senior official for the bloc asked countries not to rehash old debates and instead stick to a previous agreement calling for a gradual approach, according to people familiar with the discussions. The appeal came after some countries asked to remove a call for progress toward common supervision from a draft statement to be issued by leaders at their next summit on March 20.

An updated version of the leaders’ draft communique, seen by Bloomberg, still calls for a “move towards common supervision of actors of systemic relevance in key areas,” including clearing, securities and crypto assets.

Policymakers, including former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, have called on the EU to deepen its financial union to unlock private financing, boost Europe’s sluggish growth and enable the bloc to compete with the likes of the US and China. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has made the issue one of her key priorities, in order to accelerate funding for areas such as defense.

The idea of single supervision of areas like securities, by a body similar to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US, has been a long-standing point of contention among EU member states. One way to do that would be to grant more powers to the European Securities and Markets Authority, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has said.

The EU is set to hint at plans for single supervision of capital markets next week, in a document setting out its roadmap for making progress on a so-called Savings and Investment Union, Bloomberg reported previously. A draft of that communique stopped short of suggesting that ESMA should be given powers similar to those held by the SEC.

--With assistance from Samuel Stolton.