MEPs’ efforts to find out more about how the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union will deal with certain budgetary, financial or fiscal issues in the first half of 2023 were hardly rewarded by the answers to questions asked by the Swedish Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson on Tuesday 24 January, during an exchange of views in the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.
On the reform of the European economic governance framework, Ms Svantesson told Rasmus Andresen (Greens/EFA, German) and Margarida Marques (S&D, Portuguese) that the Ecofin Council will discuss the European Commission’s proposals in February and March so that the Commission can prepare its legislative proposals. In March, the EU institution will also present its fiscal policy guidelines for 2024, suggesting that the reform of EU fiscal rules will not be in place when the Stability and Growth Pact opt-out is deactivated at the end of 2023.
Representing a country that is considered ‘frugal’ when it comes to the budget, Ms Svantesson said that sound public finances are one of the conditions for European economic competitiveness.
Asked by Joachim Schuster (S&D, German) about possible Commission proposals for a European sovereign wealth fund, notably to extend the investment capacity of Member States after the Next Generation EU recovery plan, and for own resources in the EU budget, the Swedish minister said that it was first possible to “do more with the existing funds”. “We can discuss other funds, but the EU finance ministers consider that there are already resources”, she added, stressing the importance of member states staying united, as was the case when dealing with the socio-economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Asked by Isabel Benjumea (EPP, Spanish) about the completion of the Capital Markets Union (CMU), Ms Svantesson said it was “important that capital circulates more freely within the EU”, especially to finance the ‘green’ transition of the economy. She assured that the Swedish Presidency would continue to work in the trilogues on these issues.
Taxation. According to the minister, the Swedish Presidency hopes to make progress on the proposed ‘unshell’ directive on shell companies (see EUROPE 13101/5) and on VAT in the digital age and cooperation between tax administrations (DAC8) (see EUROPE 13092/9).
Johan Nissinen (ECR, Swedish) asked the minister about the status of the review of the tobacco taxation directive. In particular, he spoke about snus, a moist tobacco powder consumed mainly in Northern Europe. The minister replied that she did not expect a new proposal on this subject in the first half of 2023. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion and Anne Damiani)