The Finance Ministers of the euro area countries will hold a ‘strategic’ discussion by videoconference, on Monday 5 October, on the national post-Covid-19 recovery plans that will be financially supported by the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan.
The aim is to provide guidance to help Member States to prepare their national plans taking into account the euro area dimension in their choice of measures and investments, and on the basis of the recent European Commission guidelines (see EUROPE 12562/12).
Discussions on the legislative proposal introducing the Recovery and Resilience Facility will take place on Tuesday 6 October at the ECOFIN Council of the EU. According to several sources, Member States are close to a political agreement in principle. However, this cannot be validated on Tuesday, by videoconference, and will rather be validated at a later date at the level of national ambassadors to the EU (Coreper).
One of the last issues to be addressed is the setting of a 20% digital transition investment target for the European Recovery Plan, while investment in the green transition will reach 37% (see EUROPE 12559/16 and 12554/3). The European Council could send a message in this regard on Friday 2 October.
On Monday, the ministers will discuss the economic situation in the euro area, marked by the continuing uncertainty linked to the development of the coronavirus pandemic. They will not question the timetable for gradually re-applying European budgetary rules.
ECB. The Eurogroup will also be called upon to recommend to the European Council the appointment of a candidate for the post of member of the ECB’s Executive Board to replace Yves Mersch from Luxembourg starting mid-December (see EUROPE 12568/21).
If neither of the two applicants - Dutchman Frank Elderson and Slovenian Boštjan Jazbec - withdraws before the ministerial meeting, the discussions could take longer than expected, a European source said on Thursday 1 October. The issue of gender equality could arise on the side of the European Parliament, even though only the European Council is empowered to decide by a ‘super qualified majority’ of at least 14 Member States representing 65% of the population.
Lastly, the Eurogroup will be informed of the latest macroeconomic monitoring report following the Greek rescue package. It will adopt elements of language in preparation for the fall meetings of the IMF and World Bank. The impact of the appreciation of the euro against the US dollar will be discussed in this context. And the Eurogroup will adopt its work programme up to mid-2021. A discussion on the digital euro is already scheduled for November. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)