Finance Minister Keravnos in Brussels for Eurogroup and Ecofin meetings

Minister of Finance Makis Keravnos is in Brussels to take part in the Eurogroup and Ecofin meetings.

According to a press release issued by the Finance Ministry, on the sidelines of the meetings, Keravnos will hold a series of bilateral meetings with the EU Commissioner of Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides, Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe and Luxemburg Finance Minister Yuriko Backes.

During the Eurogroup meeting, the Eurozone Finance Ministers will take stock of macroeconomic and fiscal developments in the euro area and will exchange views on the fiscal policy guidance for 2023 and 2024. On 8 March, the Commission adopted a communication providing member states with guidance on the conduct and coordination of fiscal policy in 2024.

They will also exchange views about global economic policy coordination, in preparation for the upcoming spring meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund and will also exchange views on inflation developments, including drivers of inflation in the euro area and the situation in individual member states.

The Eurogroup will also revisit the euro area-related aspects of the economic governance review (EGR), with the aim of endorsing the euro area-related parts of the draft Council conclusions on the EGR and exchange views on the strategic policy objectives of a digital euro.

The Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting on Tuesday, will discuss the economic governance review and aims to agree conclusions in this regard and will discuss the state of play as regards the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and it will aim to adopt an implementing decision on Finland’s updated national plan.

Furthermore, the EU Finance Ministers will exchange views on the economic and financial impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, focusing on energy-related financial market aspects.

The Council will aim to approve conclusions on the guidelines for the 2024 budget, which will serve as a reference in the coming budget cycle. The Council will also aim to adopt a recommendation on the discharge to be given to the Commission for the implementation of the EU general budget for 2021.

(Source: CNA)