The meeting of the Council of EU Finance Ministers (ECOFIN) is taking place today in a climate of intense uncertainty, against the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
TheFinance Ministers are invited to assess the impact of geopolitical developments on the European and global economy and consider possible further support measures, continuing the wide-ranging discussion that began at yesterday’s Eurogroup.
Focus on geopolitical implications for the economy
Cyprus Finance Minister Makis Kerynos, coming to the meeting, stressed that today’s ECOFIN is being held “in a very uncertain period, with many challenges”due to two parallel conflicts directly affecting European economies. According to him, ministers will today continue discussing the impact on growth, inflation and energy markets, as well as possible interventions that can be considered at the European level.
He noted that this discussion is a continuation of yesterday’s Eurogroup, where a first assessment of the risks and scenarios for the eurozone’s course and the policy options available to the EU was already made.
Package on market integration and supervision
The second key item on the agenda is the package on market integration and strengthening the supervisory framework in the financial sector. Makis Kerynos said that on this issue the Cyprus Presidency “has made a lot of effort to speed up the process” and that a working paper with specific questions to ministers will be presented today, with the aim of facilitating the debate and making progress on points where disagreements remain.
The package aims at deeper integration of European markets,improving cross-border financing and creating more effective supervisory mechanisms to strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of the European financial system. Both technical and political aspects are on the table, related to the role of national supervisory authorities and the balance between Member States with different market sizes and structures.
Battling VAT fraud with the support of OLAF and EPPO
The third and last major item on the agenda is tackling fraud in the VAT. According to the Cypriot Finance Minister, the ECOFIN is expected – “hopefully”, he said – to reach an agreement today on the relevant package regarding how to facilitate the intervention of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).
The aim is to enable these two European authorities to carry out their mission “more easily and more quickly”through improved access to information and more effective mechanisms for cooperation with national authorities. Completion of the file is considered crucial both to protect Member States’ revenues and to safeguard the Union’s own resources.
Today’s discussions are also expected to feed into the EU’s broader course of work ahead of the next summits, where issues of strategic autonomy, financing European priorities and shielding the economy against ongoing geopolitical turbulence will be raised.
