Eurogroup and Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) meetings, 3 – 4 November 2020

Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis, Commissioner Gentiloni and Commissioner McGuinness will represent the Commission at the Eurogroup and Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meetings, taking place via videoconference today and tomorrow. The Eurogroup will discuss the economic outlook and challenges facing the euro area and the global economy. The Eurogroup will also have a discussion on the digital euro, following the publication of the ECB report and the public consultation. The President of the Eurogroup has invited the director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Andrea Ammon, to brief participants on the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting will also discuss the benefits and challenges of a possible future introduction of a digital euro. The chair of the Single Resolution Board (SRB), Elke König, will brief Ministers on the recent activities of the SRB. Finally, meeting in the inclusive format, participants will be informed on the state of play on the ongoing technical discussions on liquidity in resolution and take stock of the implementation of (i) SURE, (ii) the EIB’s pan-European Guarantee Fund and (iii) the ESM Pandemic Crisis Support credit line. Commissioner Gentiloni will represent the Commission at the press conference which follows the meeting. The press conference will be live-streamed here. Tomorrow, the informal ECOFIN will start with a discussion on the Council conclusions on preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. Then, the Commission will present the progress made on the implementation of the 2017 Action Plan on Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) in the banking sector. The Commission will outline elements of its upcoming NPL Strategy. Following this, the Presidency will present two sets of Council conclusions on the European Semester, concerning the European Court of Auditors’ Special Report on the European Semester and the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2021. The Presidency and the Commission will brief Ministers on the discussions at the G20 Finance Ministers, at the Central Bank Governors and at the IMF/World Bank annual meetings, which took place in October. A virtual press conference with EVP Dombrovskis will follow the meeting. You can follow live here.