The European finance ministers returned to the subject of the Capital Markets Union (CMU) project at a meeting of euro area countries on Monday 13 May and at an Economic and Financial Affairs Council (‘Ecofin’) on Tuesday 14 May (see EUROPE 13408/4).
Follow-up to the Eurogroup. At a working dinner on Monday evening, the ministers agreed on the main elements of a high-level work programme on the CMU for the coming months.
This follow-up work by the Eurogroup, based on the declaration that the Eurogroup in ‘inclusive’ format published in March after almost a year’s reflection (see EUROPE 13368/3), should take the form of regular meetings until March 2025 at both EU and national level.
“It is now all about how we can move to action at national level and how we can provide guidance to the next Commission regarding the actions they can take. We all want to find ways in which we can maintain the momentum and build the urgency to make progress”, Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe said on Monday.
The ministers’ discussion was informed by a presentation of the report by former Banque de France Governor Christian Noyer, commissioned by the French government to draw up recommendations on the CMU (see EUROPE 13399/26). However, the French approach to financial supervision or the creation of a pan-European individual retirement savings product is not unanimously supported by the EU27 at the EU Council.
Cross-border investment. On Tuesday, the ‘Ecofin’ Council adopted a new approach to taxation to make withholding tax procedures more efficient and secure (see other news). According to the European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, the aim is to promote cross-border investment as an “important building block” of the Capital Markets Union.
“Reducing complexity and costs will allow investors to invest more easily and securely in other Member States”, he told the press on Tuesday.
Financial education. The ministers also adopted conclusions on the financial culture of European citizens, which they believe is likely to stimulate private investment and ultimately strengthen European competitiveness.
On the one hand, the ‘Ecofin’ Council encourages Member States to include financial education into school curricula and to promote financial education for adults through seminars, workshops and awareness-raising campaigns.
On the other hand, the ministers invite the European Commission to support actions that can be implemented by non-legislative means, such as the European Technical Support Instrument for Reform (‘TSI’) (see EUROPE 13379/14) or the Erasmus+ programme.
“I am pleased that the process we started at our informal ECOFIN in Ghent in February 2024 [see EUROPE 13357/8] has now resulted in EU Council conclusions. Financial literacy is of utmost importance if we wish to channel dormant savings towards productive investment projects”, concluded Belgian Minister Vincent Van Peteghem.
See the EU Council’s conclusions on financial education: https://aeur.eu/f/c79 (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)