Preparation of the Eurogroup and informal ECOFIN meetings, 7-8 September 2018
Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President Jyrki Katainen and Commissioner Pierre Moscovici will represent the Commission at the Eurogroup and informal ECOFIN meeting taking place this Friday and Saturday in Vienna.
Tomorrow’s Eurogroup meeting will give ministers the opportunity to have an exchange of views with the Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, Roberto Gualtieri MEP. They will also have a thematic discussion on allocative efficiency in labour and product markets. Ministers will then be updated on the 8th post-programme surveillance of Portugal. Finally, the Eurogroup will meet in an inclusive format to discuss the deepening of Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union – in particular the proposed common backstop to the Single Resolution Fund. Commissioner Moscovici will participate in the press conference following the meeting. The first item on the agenda of the ECOFIN starting on Friday afternoon, will be a debate on the achievements and future of the European Investment Bank. This will be followed by a discussion on the implications of increasing interest rates on financial stability as well as the economic potential and risks of cryptoassets and cryptocurrencies. A press conference with Vice-President Dombrovskis will follow this first session. The informal ECOFIN meeting continues on Saturday morning where the agenda starts with a discussion on the relevant aspects of the Commission’s recent proposals for the next EU budget. In particular, ministers will discuss in the presence of Vice-President Katainen the InvestEU programme which aims to bring together under one roof the multitude of EU financial programmes currently available, triggering investment of more than €650 billion, as well as the Commission’s proposal to support structural reforms in Member States. Finally, finance ministers will discuss the way forward on the Commission’s proposals to ensure that digital business activities are taxed in a fair and growth-friendly way in the EU. A press conference with Vice-President Dombrovskis also follows this second session of the meeting.
