The mandate of the European Union going into the videoconference meeting on 26 February of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the 20 largest global economies, is fully in line with the priorities of the Italian G20 Presidency for 2021. At the heart of this is still the fight against Covid-19, but also digital taxation and sustainable investments.
The draft text, which should receive the green light from the ambassadors of the Member States to the EU on Wednesday 24 February, calls on the G20 Finance Ministers to continue injecting money into the world economy to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The global economy is expected to recover in a gradual, incomplete and uneven way going forward, also depending on the availability and distribution of affordable and effective vaccines. Fiscal policies should remain supportive as long as necessary, and not be prematurely withdrawn”, the document points out.
On helping to finance the recovery of the poorest countries, Europe indicates its support for exploring the possibility of extending the G20/Paris Club Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) to middle-income countries that are the most vulnerable, while recognising that resources for debt relief should be allocated as a priority to low-income countries (see EUROPE 12659/7).
“The EU is ready to discuss options for reducing pressure on low-income countries should they face financial pressures and looks forward to the analysis by the IMF and World Bank of the external financing needs of low-income developing countries in the coming years”, the paper says.
For the rest, European countries welcome the return of sustainable finance to the G20 agenda, in particular the re-establishment of the Sustainable Finance Study Group
They look forward to the Study Group working on taxonomies, in relation to the International Platform on Sustainable Finance (see EUROPE 12626/36), and to the Financial Stability Board (FSB) continuing its work on the implications of climate change for financial stability and climate disclosure.
“Giving the highest priority” to digital taxation
According to the paper, the EU also calls on its global partners to “give the highest priority to global solutions to address the taxation of the digital economy”.
Europe intends to keep up the pressure and calls on the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS to address the remaining issues with a view to reaching a global and consensual solution by mid-2021 (see EUROPE 12646/19), i.e. at the July ‘G20 Finance’ meeting.
Furthermore, the EU reiterates its support for the G20 position that no ‘stablecoin’ should start operating until all relevant legal, regulatory, supervisory and control requirements have been duly taken into account (see EUROPE 12353/11). European countries also stress their interest in continuing work on digital currencies for central banks.
See the document: https://bit.ly/3kdlKY3 (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)