Czech Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura, chairing the Ecofin Council for the first time, presented his priorities to his counterparts on Tuesday 12 July, with particular emphasis on the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine.
“We will see how the European economy recovers in the wake of the implementation of the national recovery plans”, he said, referring to inflation, including excessively high energy prices. “We would like to finalise the amendment of the Recovery and Resilience Facility under Repower EU”, he announced (see EUROPE 12990/4).
The Czech Minister also announced that the subject of short-term financial aid and the reconstruction of Ukraine will be discussed at the informal ministerial meeting in Prague on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 September (see EUROPE 12987/2).
“We must, despite the difficulties we face, continue to strive for sustainable public finances”, said Mr Stanjura. He therefore wishes to continue to discuss fiscal rules appropriate to the circumstances and to contribute to the launch of the ‘European Semester’ budget process for 2023. He also mentioned discussions on a new own resource for the EU budget.
Speaking to the press, European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said the EU institution would make proposals “in the autumn” on a reform of the European economic governance framework, while EU fiscal rules will continue to remain ‘frozen’ in 2023.
Finance. On the financial side, Mr Stanjura said that the implementation of the ‘Basel III’ agreement on banking regulation will be the most important issue for the Czech Presidency. “We will aim for a ‘general approach’ in the Council”, he said (see EUROPE 12971/19).
As regards the Capital Markets Union (CMU), the Presidency will focus on the MiFIR regulation governing the financial instruments markets, standards for green bonds, long-term investment funds (ELTIFs) and the review of investment funds.
In addition, the Czech Presidency wants to make progress on reforms to step up the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
Taxation. On taxation, Mr Stanjura wants to complete the discussion on the two pillars of the OECD agreement on minimum corporate tax and focus on the energy tax directive. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)