Brussels, 06/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - Finance ministers and central bank governors of the European Union member states will be meeting in Gödöllõ near Budapest on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 April to discuss the political crisis in Portugal.
Portugal. In the first fortnight in June 2011, Portugal will need to roll over its public debt, but the interest rates charged on its bonds on the markets have not stopped rising (see related article) and the country is now split over the caretaker government's ability to request international aid. The state deficit is expected to reach 8.6% of gross national product in 2010, overshooting the 7.3% target. All the main political parties in the country have pledged to meet the deficit reduction targets of bringing the debt down to 4.6% of GDP in 2011, 3% in 2012 and 2% in 2013.
The talks about Portugal will take place at the Eurogroup meeting, which will be examining the economic situation in the eurozone, where the economy is picking up, although this varies widely from one country to the next. The day before the meeting, the European Central Bank is expected to put up the main interest rate for the first time since 2008 to nip inflation in the bud. The ministers will be examining indicators that shed light on macroeconomic imbalance within the EU in connection with the revised stability and growth pact, currently being negotiated by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament (see EUROPE 10337). The Hungarian Presidency will issue a questionnaire on a list of indicators, including current accounts, net fdi, real exchange rate in practice and public debt. The politicians will also discuss the setting of minimum and maximum levels, the overshooting of which would result in a warning.
Stress tests. The ECOFIN Council will discuss the new EU financial supervision system (ESRB and the three ESAs) and will discuss the bank stress tests currently under way, examining the national plans that member states must produce before the stress test results are published in the summer in order to remedy any problems in the banking system.
The Hungarian Presidency wants the EU's position to be set out for the April meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, focusing on issues like regulations to cover the commodities markets, an issue close to France's heart as the current chair of the G20. (M.B./transl.fl)