On Monday 13 May in Brussels, the finance ministers of the eurozone countries will review the macroeconomic situation and the Capital Markets Union (CMU) project.
Following on from the discussions held at the spring meetings of the international financial organisations in Washington, the ministers will note that economic growth remains weak and inflationary pressures continue to ease. The European Commission could give a preview of the spring economic forecasts it will be presenting on Wednesday 15 May.
“It is necessary to maintain restrictive budgetary policies in order to restore margins for manoeuvre” and to tackle the challenges associated with low productivity, said a European source on Wednesday 8 May.
The ministers will also debate the levers that can be used to close the innovation and productivity gap in the European Union, based on a presentation by Michiel Scheffer, Director of the European Innovation Council.
This source expects “lively” discussions between those in favour of an assertive industrial policy at European level and those more inclined to leave “creative destruction” to the market.
In mid-April, the European Council called on the EU to put in place a European Competitiveness Pact, involving a deepening of the internal market and massive investment in the technologies of the future (see EUROPE 13394/1).
In addition, with the Bulgarian minister, the Eurogroup will discuss the completion of the banking union in the eurozone, in the presence of the chairs of the Single Supervisory Board (SSB) and the Single Resolution Board (SRB). This could include issues such as the ‘CMDI’ proposal for banking crisis management (see EUROPE 13400/1) and the unratified reform of the European Stability Mechanism, the eurozone’s permanent rescue fund.
CMU. Over dinner, the finance ministers will discuss how to move forward with the completion of the Capital Markets Union (CMU), a project designed to mobilise the substantial private savings available for the investments needed for the EU’s climate and digital transitions. This discussion will be based on the conclusions of the mid-April European Council and the 13 measures suggested by the Eurogroup (see EUROPE 13368/3).
The President of the Eurogroup, Paschal Donohoe, has invited the former Governor of the Banque de France, Christian Noyer, who led a committee of experts on the CMU. This committee recommends developing long-term European savings products, stimulating financial securitisation and strengthening financial supervision at the level of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) (see EUROPE 13399/26).
“We will still be in an exploratory phase”, said this diplomat. In his view, the possibility could be raised of allowing groups of countries to develop common market segments, if an EU27 initiative is not possible. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion and Bernard Denuit)