Brussels, 18/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - The EU28 finance ministers expressed the desire on Tuesday 18 February for Ireland, which has now exited its structural adjustment programme, to fully join the European Semester budget surveillance programme, including its macroeconomic imbalances procedures. The Council of Ministers added that the European Commission should carry out a detailed analysis of the country.
In parallel, the ministers welcomed the third European Commission report on the early warning mechanisms, hailing progress in reducing imbalances but pointing out that a lot remained to be done to reduce public and private debt. The handful of member states with high current account surpluses will be subject to stricter monitoring.
The EU28 finance ministers said they shared the analysis of the economic situation set out in the European Commission's Annual Growth Survey. Growth remains fragile, burdened by the heritage of the crisis.
The ministers back the five priority areas laid down by the European Commission, including differentiated budget consolidation that is growth-friendly and can restore healthy public finance. Attention must also be paid to restoring lending to the real economy, promoting sustainable, inclusive growth, competitiveness and jobs, and dealing with the social impact of the crisis. The ministers note that eurozone countries have promised to examine the risks identified by the Commission in its opinions on their reform plans and urge all member states to keep up the pace of reform.
Noting that the financial market remains fragmented and there is still a credit crunch for small business, the EU28 say that more must be done to repair bank balance sheets as speedily as possible so that banks can finance the real economy. The ministers say the priority should go to developing alternatives to banks. The ministers argue that structural measures need to accompany budget consolidation. (EL/transl.fl)