Preparation of the Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings, 21-22 June 2018

Vice-President Dombrovskis and Commissioner Moscovici will represent the European Commission at the Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings taking place today and tomorrow in Luxembourg.

Today’s Eurogroup meeting will assess the implementation of the prior actions under the fourth review of the stability support programme for Greece and, more broadly, discuss all of the elements needed to ensure the successful completion of the programme in August. There will be an exchange views on the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) presentation of the outcome of its Article IV consultations with the euro area. The Eurogroup will also discuss Spain’s updated Draft Budgetary Plan for 2018, based on the Commission’s Opinion published in May. Finally, the institutions will inform the Eurogroup of the main findings of the fourth post-programme surveillance mission to Cyprus that took place in March.The Eurogroup will then meet in an inclusive format to prepare for the Euro Summit, which will take place on 29 June 2018 to take further steps on deepening Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union, including the completion of the Banking Union and the future role of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). Commissioner Moscovici will participate in the press conference following the meeting. At the ECOFIN meeting tomorrow, the Council is expected to close the excessive deficit procedure for France, and to issue recommendations regarding significant budgetary deviations by Hungary and Romania. It is due to approve country-specific recommendations on Member States’ economic and social policies under the 2018 European Semester. In terms of the Banking Union, Ministers will be updated on the ongoing discussions on the proposal to establish a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS). The Council is also expected to adopt new tools for cooperation between EU countries in the fight against VAT fraud – a problem which leads to losses of €50 billion for national budgets of EU Member States each year. Vice-President Dombrovskis will participate in the press conference following the ECOFIN meeting.