Greek Fin. Min. in Brussels for Eurogroup and Ecofin

In the shadow of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States, and a few 24 hours before the meeting of the European Central Bank, where, unexpectedly, another increase in interest rates will be decided, the finance ministers of the Eurozone are meeting today.

Greek Minister Christos Staikouras is going to Brussels today to participate in the Eurogroup and Ecofin meetings.

According to the agenda of the Eurogroup, macroeconomic and fiscal developments in the Eurozone will be discussed, including the guidelines for the exercise and coordination of fiscal policy in 2024, issued by the European Commission. In fact, on the subject, a relevant statement is expected to be issued.

Also, the Ministers will discuss key issues for global economic policy coordination, in preparation for the upcoming spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The discussion will include the usual stock of exchange rate developments over the past few months.

Update on G7 decisions

In addition, the European Commission will provide an update on the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in February.

The agenda of the meeting also includes an exchange of views regarding inflation developments both in the Eurozone and in the individual member states.

The Eurogroup will return to the euro area-related aspects of the review of economic governance, with a view to endorsing the euro area-related parts of the draft Council conclusions on that review.

Following the statement agreed by the Eurogroup on 16 January and based on a Secretariat thematic note, Ministers are expected to exchange views on strategic policy objectives for the digital euro.

The recovery plan

The day after tomorrow, Tuesday, the Minister of Finance will represent Greece at the Ecofin meeting, where the progress of work on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility will be discussed and an executive decision will be sought on Finland’s updated national plan.

In addition, the European Commission will present to the EU Finance Ministers its fiscal policy guidelines for 2024.

Ecofin will discuss the economic governance review and seek to reach conclusions on this issue.

The economic and fiscal implications of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine will also be on the table will, with a focus on energy-related aspects of financial markets.

The Presidency and the European Commission will brief Ecofin on the main outcomes of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held on 24-25 February 2023. Ecofin will provide guidance for further work on preparations for the upcoming meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, as well as for the spring meetings of the IMF on 10-16 April 2023.

Ecofin will also seek to adopt conclusions on the guidelines for the 2024 budget, as well as issue a recommendation on the discharge to be given to the European Commission for the implementation of the general EU budget. for 2021.

In addition, Ministers will be asked to note the progress of work on the implementation of legislation in the financial services sector.

Finally, on the sidelines of Ecofin, the Presidency will hold the semi-annual macro-economic dialogue meeting at political level with representatives of the social partners.