The President of the Eurogroup, Paschal Donohoe, announced on Monday 15 May that the euro area countries have committed to reaching an agreement by March 2024 on a work programme pertaining to areas that will lead to a deepening of the Capital Markets Union (see EUROPE 13172/8). It will then be up to the next European Commission to examine this possible agreement and to continue the work.
“This is all about a strategic discussion regarding areas in which further progress is possible and likely in the years ahead. We want to go beyond those topics that are already on the legislative agenda and have a strategic reflection on further topics that we, the Commission and the European Parliament could tackle that would make a difference to how we can better fund growth within the European Union”, commented Donohoe following the Eurogroup meeting.
According to the Irish Minister, there “are no easy next steps left” in the proposed process, but “developments that are taking place across the world remind us of the fact that the European Union will have to find other ways in which we can be competitive beyond the spending of taxpayers’ money”. Mr Donohoe concluded: “We are so aware of all of the different changes for which we need to find ways of funding”. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)