Meeting in an inclusive format, the Eurogroup will attempt to reach a provisional agreement on a number of arrangements linked to the European Central Bank introducing the digital euro on Friday 19 September in Copenhagen.
The Eurogroup could send a positive signal in the context of the ongoing negotiations at the Council of the European Union on the legislative package that should provide a legal basis for the digital euro project.
“I’ve good reason to expect that we’ll come to a solution soon”, said a senior European official on Wednesday 17 September, although he did not rule out the possibility that an agreement might not be announced until early October. “Once the Eurogroup’s work is finished, there will still be a lot to do at the level of the [EU] Council working group”, warned this source, hoping that a new dynamic on the part of Member States will have a positive influence on the work being carried out in parallel in the European Parliament.
The discussion of the euro area countries’ finance ministers will focus on two specific points of the digital euro project: the holding limit per user of the future virtual central bank currency and the final political decision to introduce the digital euro.
Later in the day, the ministers will take stock of the work being done at the EU Council on the legislative package. If the Eurogroup reaches a partial agreement, it will be up to the Danish Presidency of the EU Council to incorporate it with a view to finalising work by the end of the year (see EUROPE 13676/22).
Aid to Ukraine. Following the G7 finance meeting in Ottawa on Friday 12 September, the Eurogroup will again discuss possible measures to increase economic pressure on Russia for its military aggression against Ukraine.
In particular, the future loan to compensate Kyiv for the destruction of its infrastructure will be discussed. According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, this loan will be financed by a financial instrument that will enable more profits to be generated from the Bank of Russia’s fixed assets in the EU (see EUROPE 13706/2). And it would only be reimbursed by Ukraine once Russia had paid for war damages.
“We’re not engaging in confiscating the assets”, stressed this source, pointing to the importance of respecting international law to guarantee financial stability.
Macroeconomic situation. The Eurogroup will also take stock of the macroeconomic situation, based on an update of the European Commission’s forecasts and the ECB’s recent monetary policy decisions (see EUROPE 13707/27).
“The situation is not great, but it could be much worse”, said this senior European official, noting the robustness of the euro area labour market. In his view, the US trade barriers agreed by the EU at the end of July will certainly have an effect on growth but will be offset by robust consumption and investments in infrastructure and the military sector.
Finally, the ministers will adopt their work programme for the next twelve months. This outlines three main areas of focus: coordination of budgetary policies, with a strategic discussion in November on how the Eurogroup could contribute to macroeconomic surveillance; the euro as a currency of international stature, with the digital euro’s introduction; and promoting the competitiveness of the banking and capital markets sectors. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit and Mathieu Bion)