Brussels, 23/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 27 January, the finance ministers of the EU will hold an initial exchange of views on the proposed regulation to institute the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) in the framework of the Juncker investment plan.
Tabled in mid-January, the legislative proposal on the EFSI has already been the subject of two days of work at the technical level of the Council (see EUROPE 11229). In the course of these preparatory discussions, several questions were raised by the national delegations: - the governance of the future guarantee fund to be set up under the aegis of the EIB; - whether the EFSI will be temporary or permanent; - the links to and financial impact on the existing programmes funded through the structural funds; - the treatment of national financial support of the EFSI under the European rules on state aid.
The Latvian Presidency of the Council is aiming to reach an agreement in principle at the March Ecofin Council, with a view to a definitive agreement with the European Parliament in May (see EUROPE 11235). Sticking to this timetable would allow the EFSI fund, which is designed to draw down €315 billion in private investments, to be up and running in June.
In the budgetary field, the Ecofin Council will hold an exchange of views on the Commission's interpretation of the existing flexibility built into the Stability and Growth Pact to stimulate investment in structural reforms and to take better account of the economic cycle. There will also be discussions on the evaluation of the implementation of the legislative packages ('2 pack', '6 pack') which revised the Stability and Growth Pact (see EUROPE 11206).
Ukraine. Over breakfast, the ministers will discuss the European Commission's proposal to grant €1.8 billion in additional macro-financial aid to Ukraine, to support reforms in a country struggling under major financial difficulties (see EUROPE 11226). They may agree on orientations on the envelope to be granted, which is expected to be in a range of between €1.8 and €2.5 billion. The European countries of the G7 (Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy) want the level of aid to be higher than suggested, according to a European source. Increasing the envelope would, however, have an impact on the level of guarantees to be provided by the EU budget. France is nonetheless keen to earmark a margin for requests which may come in from other countries in the EU's neighbourhood, particularly in the Mediterranean area.
Financing of terrorism. By request of France, the Council and the Commission may adopt a declaration on future work on fighting the financing of terrorism. France, which was recently hit by terrorist attacks, for a while considered reopening negotiations on the fourth 'anti-money-laundering' directive in order to reinforce the inter-institutional agreement already in place on this text (see EUROPE 11235). Given the misgivings of certain delegations, the idea of a joint statement emerged. This could refer to subjects such as creating national registers of bank accounts, increased cooperation between the national anti-financial crime services, the regulation of virtual currencies and the role of the customs services.
The ministers will adopt the wording to be defended by their G20 counterparts at the 'G20 Finances', to be held in Istanbul on 9 and 10 February. (MB)