Finance Minister Mr. Christos Staikouras will be in Brussels today, Monday and tomorrow, Tuesday, in order to participate in the Eurogroup and Ecofin meetings.

Before the Eurogroup meeting, Mr. Staikouras will have a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Finance of Bulgaria, Mrs. Rositza Velkova-Jeleva.

Budgets are on the table

In particular, today Mr. Staikouras will take part in the meeting of the Eurozone Finance Ministers, in which the latest economic developments and the prospects for the single currency zone will be discussed, following presentations by the European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB).

In addition, the general picture resulting from the draft budgets submitted by the member states will be put on the discussion table, an issue on which the Ministers are expected to return in December. The future of fiscal policy coordination in the Eurozone will also be examined.

The agenda of the meeting also includes the  measures taken at national level to mitigate the impact of high energy prices on vulnerable households and businesses.

Finally, the Eurozone Finance Ministers will discuss the results of recent international meetings and will be informed by the new Minister of Finance of Italy, Mr. Giancarlo Giorgetti, about the political priorities of the country’s new Government.

Banking union

The Eurogroup will also meet as a banking union, in order to exchange views with the President of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mr. Andrea Enria, and the President of the Single Resolution Board, Ms. Elke König regarding developments, challenges and opportunities in the banking sector in the current economic, geopolitical and financial environment.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, Mr. Staikouras will participate in the Ecofin meeting, which will discuss the implementation of the Basel III regulation, a set of reform measures aimed at strengthening the resilience of the European Union’s banking sector, as well as improving supervision and risk management.

The effects of war

In addition, the economic and fiscal implications of the Russian aggression against Ukraine are expected to be discussed and political directions may be given regarding the operational implementation of regular financial assistance to Ukraine.

Also, the agenda of the session includes a discussion on the taxation of heavy goods vehicles, an account of the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRF), as well as an update from the Presidency on the progress of the legislative proposals under consideration in the financial services sector.

Finally, the President of the European Fiscal Council will present the ESI Annual Report for 2022, while the European Commission will brief Finance Ministers on the implications for the European Union of the new US deflation law.

On the sidelines of Ecofin, a macro-economic dialogue meeting with the social partners will take place, with energy prices as a central theme. Meanwhile, tomorrow, Tuesday, there will be a ministerial dialogue between the European Union and the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) on energy prices and inflation in the context of the current geopolitical situation.