In the fiscal area, the main projects of the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council will consist of: - reaching a political agreement, first between the Member States in November and then between the EU Council and the European Parliament by the end of 2023, on the reform of the European economic governance framework; - preparing the European Council’s decisions on the revision of the EU’s 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
At a technical level, work on the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact is intense and very regular and, according to several sources, is taking place in a constructive atmosphere.
At the political level, the debate held in mid-June at the Ecofin Council in Luxembourg allowed for Member States to consider the proposal presented as a good working basis (see EUROPE 13203/2). It was also an opportunity to reiterate the importance of gradually consolidating public finances after several years of high indebtedness to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic and the energy crisis, while preserving room for manoeuvre to invest in the climate and digital transitions.
The known differences between Germany and France on the introduction of binding quantitative criteria to consolidate public finances were also reiterated.
On Friday 14 July, the Ecofin Council will debate the reform of European fiscal rules, then again on Tuesday 17 October in Luxembourg. A political agreement between the Member States is expected on Thursday 9 November.
EU budget. The Spanish Presidency will try to make progress towards an agreement on the mid-term review of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework, after the European Commission proposed a budget increase of almost €66 billion to stabilise the EU’s macroeconomic assistance to Ukraine (see EUROPE 13205/9), increase the funds allocated to the EU’s migration policy and boost economic competitiveness (see EUROPE 13205/1).
An initial ministerial round table will take place at the EU ‘General Affairs’ Council on Monday 10 July and a second on Tuesday 19 September. This dossier will probably have to be finalised by the heads of state or government in December at the latest. Some are already wondering whether an extraordinary European summit will be held between the end of October and the end of December.
In this context, the Spanish Presidency has promised in its work programme to take forward work on the creation of the first basket of new own resources for the EU budget, which would come from the Emissions Trading System, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and a national contribution based on the profits of multinational companies (‘Pillar I’ of the OECD agreement).
Following a debate at the Ecofin Council on Friday 14 July, the Spanish authorities intend to submit a progress report to the forthcoming Belgian Presidency of the Council on Friday 8 December.
Ukraine. Over the next six months, the European finance ministers will regularly review the socio-economic consequences of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. The continuation of macrofinancial assistance to Ukraine until 2027 will be addressed as part of the revision of the MFF. On the other hand, the question of mobilising the assets of the Central Bank of Russia frozen in the EU for the reconstruction of Ukraine could be discussed at the Ecofin Council.
RRF. It should be noted that, over the next six months, the Ecofin Council will be called upon to approve the revised recovery plans that several Member States have already submitted at European level, with a view in particular to including a ‘REPowerEU’ chapter to accelerate their energy transition.
The Commission has already approved the revised plans for Germany (see EUROPE 13121/27), Estonia (see EUROPE 13181/22) and the revised plans for France, Ireland and Malta (see EUROPE 13209/29).
Banks. In the banking sector, the Spanish authorities will attempt to reach an EU Council position in early November on the 'CMDI' proposal aimed at strengthening the framework for managing a banking crisis, in particular through new financial arrangements for financing the resolution of a large failing bank (see EUROPE 13183/2).
The Spanish Finance Minister, Nadia Calviño, has invited as well her counterparts from the EU and Latin American and Caribbean countries to Santiago de Compostela on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 September. This unprecedented meeting, to be held two months after the EU/CELAC summit on 17 and 18 July in Brussels, will aim to strengthen cooperation between the two regions in international financial forums.
See the detailed programme of the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council: https://aeur.eu/f/7v4 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)