Finance Minister travels to Brussels for Eurogroup and Ecofin
Finance Minister Christos Staikouras is in Brussels on Monday to participate in the Eurogroup and Ecofin meetings. Staikouras will take part in the regular meeting of the Eurogroup, where the macroeconomic prospects in the eurozone will be discussed, including the issues of inflation and rising energy prices. Eurozone finance ministers are also expected to exchange views on policy targets and uses of the digital euro.
An enlarged Eurogroup meeting will follow, in which areview of economic governance will be discussed. According to the agenda, “the European Commission will present the renewed review of economic governance, focusing on the eurozone dimension. Ministers will discuss how the Eurogroup can handle this review and address the difficulties in coordinating fiscal and economic policies and the challenges to Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) following the COVID-19 pandemic.” In addition, the progress of the banking union and the preparation for the establishment of the common security mechanism for the Single Resolution Fund will be examined.
On Tuesday, Staikouras will attend the Ecofin meeting, where the European Union finance ministers will exchange views on the prospects for the European economy after the pandemic and the impact of the health crisis on economic governance. According to the agenda, “ministers will discuss the future of economic governance and will have the opportunity to express their views on the future course of the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact.”
The Ecofin meeting will also examine the funding process of the Next Generation EU and the implementation of the Recovery and Sustainability Mechanism, while it is expected to adopt conclusions for the future of the European Semester in relation to the Recovery and Sustainability Mechanism.
The agenda of the meeting also includes an exchange of views on energy prices and inflation, a discussion on the implementation of “Basel III” and a presentation of the European Court of Auditors’ annual report on the execution of the European Union budget for the fiscal year 2020. [AMNA]
