Euro area finance ministers on Monday 17 February sent a report on the modalities of an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that would allow the Nineteen to provide future fiscal capacity for the euro area beyond the envelope directly allocated to it in the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
This report specifies “the content, modalities, and considerations on the size” of such an intergovernmental agreement, said Eurogroup President Mário Centeno. He emphasized that no sum for the envelope from the MFF that will be devoted to fiscal capacity was discussed on Monday, even though the figure of €17 billion is circulating. This is a matter for the European Council, which on Thursday 20 February will discuss the post-2020 EU budget (see EUROPE 12427/1).
Asked about Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa’s criticism of the modalities of fiscal capacity for the euro area (see EUROPE 12390/2), Mr Centeno recalled that the Eurogroup had agreed in October on the modalities of the euro area budget, including the issue of cofinancing rates (see EUROPE 12346/2).
See the Eurogroup report: http://bit.ly/2SQEKyi (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)