Meeting in the ‘enlarged euro area’ format, EU leaders briefly discussed, on Thursday 25 March, ongoing work on strengthening the international role of the euro (see EUROPE 12685/5).
We have agreed on a framework to work on “four pillars”, said European Council President Charles Michel.
The EU27 declaration details these four avenues of work: – to establish a strong economic recovery through the Next Generation EU recovery plan; – to develop robust market infrastructures and complete the banking union in the euro area and the capital markets union; – to continue exploratory work leading to a digital euro (see EUROPE 12595/3); – to rapidly develop a framework stimulating the “European financial market for ‘green’ bonds”, thanks in particular to the common issuance of securities in the framework of the Next Generation EU.
“The role of the euro has not become stronger in recent years, and we must do everything to position the euro as an important global currency”, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Some insist on the banking union “but for me what is even more important is the development of capital union”, she added.
While the EU27 met with US President Joe Biden that evening (see other news), French President Emmanuel Macron warned against Europe falling out of step with the US (see EUROPE 12681/19). “We will need to complete our response. [...] It is clear that the United States will return to its pre-crisis level by mid-2021. We will only return to this level in the spring/summer of 2022”, he stressed. “We are too slow, complex and bureaucratic”, he regretted.
Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa welcomed the fact that the Eurogroup and the ECB recommend a continued freeze of the Stability and Growth Pact also in 2022. According to the Eurogroup, the fiscal stance should be expansionary in 2021 and 2022 (see EUROPE 12678/5).
In June, the Euro Summit will discuss the economic challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
See the statement: https://bit.ly/3fs4Rsn (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with the editorial team