The working session of the European Finance Ministers at the informal ECOFIN meeting in Bucharest on Friday, 5 April was profoundly forward-looking. They discussed future institutional priorities for the next five years and the future of the Capital Markets Union (CMU).
According to a European source, the discussion was very scattered. However, some points of convergence have emerged, such as the completion of the Banking Union, the deepening of the CMU, the modernisation of European taxation and, above all, the need for the EU to remain competitive and innovative against countries such as China and the United States. Many Member States also stressed the need to “finish what has been started”, the source said.
The discussions took place in particular on the basis of a study presented by the Bruegel Institute which identifies as priorities for the European agenda: innovation, climate change, improving social cohesion as well convergence in the EU and strengthening relations between countries inside and outside the euro area (see EUROPE 12229/26).
“For a little over a decade, the EU’s economic agenda has been about managing the fallout from the financial crisis. While major progress has been made, banking union remains incomplete and fragilities remain. The macro-financial agenda should therefore remain a priority for the next five years. But finance ministers must also devote more of their collective (at ECOFIN level) and individual (at national level) attention to sustainable and inclusive growth and economic convergence”, the study states.
Five social partners - BusinessEurope, SMEUnited, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services (CEEP) - were also invited by the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU to participate in the meeting and also to present their priorities.
Ten Member States spoke during the meeting, including France. At a press conference, the French Minister, Bruno Le Maire, outlined France's main priorities, namely: "to equip itself with all the instruments to accelerate economic convergence between the Member States of the euro area and between European States in general” and to put Europe "at the forefront of the creation of a fair and efficient 21st century international taxation”.
Another major priority for France is the need to build “European industrial champions” in areas such as electric batteries, the railway sector and shipbuilding. However, according to the same source, this was probably the point of discussion that divided the Member States the most, with some seeing a more integrated single market as an alternative to this idea.
CMU. Ministers also took stock of achievements within the framework of the Capital Markets Union (CMU). According to a European source, this discussion will be an opportunity for Romania to list all the interinstitutional agreements that have taken place under its presidency of the Council of the EU, and for the Commission to send a message to the Member States on issues that have not yet been finalised, such as the European taxonomy (see EUROPE 12212/9) or the regulation on participatory financing (see EUROPE 12130/3).
At a press conference, the European Commissioner for Financial Services, Valdis Dombrovskis, reported “strong political support” from ministers for the CMU project.
“Many of those files are quite technical and sometimes may lack of political appeal […] But it’s not one idea or one measure that will make the difference but the sum of the measures taken together that create a positive ecosystem for capital markets”, he said. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)