Meeting in its General Affairs formation on Tuesday 20 March, the Council of the European Union formally adopted the recommendation on the economic policy of the Eurozone ahead of the European Council meeting of 22 and 23 March.
This recommendation includes elements of the one adopted by the finance ministers at the meeting of the Ecofin Council on Tuesday 23 January (see EUROPE 11943), following the draft recommendation presented by the European Commission on 22 November of last year, as part of the European Semester budgetary process for 2018 (see EUROPE 11910).
In the text, the ministers recommend a globally neutral budgetary orientation for the Eurozone, that supports sustainable and inclusive growth. The member states also encouraged the tackling of aggressive tax planning.
The recommendation also calls for Banking Union to be completed by setting in place a European Deposit Insurance System (EDIS) and creating a common backstop for the Single Resolution Fund, but it does not refer to the role to be played by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) in so doing.
The text will now be submitted to the European Council, which is expected to approve it on Thursday 22 March. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)