On Tuesday 10 March, European finance ministers will debate the reform of the supervision of financial market infrastructures. They will also take stock of the macroeconomic impact of Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and of the attack by the United States and Israel on Iran.
Supervision. Ministers will hold an initial debate on the ‘Market Infrastructure and Supervision Package’ (MISP), a legislative reform proposed by the European Commission last December (see EUROPE 13766/17).
The Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council has set in motion a sustained pace of work on this issue, with an increasing number of expert meetings. It already considers it appropriate to organise a political debate on the issue and will seek confirmation from ministers on the pace of work (see EUROPE 13821/22).
In addition, at the end of March, experts from EU Member States will consider legislative proposals to transfer direct supervisory powers over major market infrastructures to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) (see EUROPE 13821/22).
It should be noted that Member States will gradually placing their sights on the succession of ESMA’s Chair, Verena Ross, whose term of office expires in October. According to a source in the Spanish Ministry of Finance, Spain is ready to play an important role in this future appointment, which is part of the institutional balance within the European Union.
Ukraine. Ministers will also review the future €90 billion loan to Ukraine for 2026 and 2027 (see EUROPE 13820/15).
This loan is to be backed by the EU budget, but Hungary, supported politically by Slovakia, has made it known that it will block the amendment to the current Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), necessary to authorise the European Commission to borrow on the markets, until Russian oil deliveries through Ukraine via the Druzhba pipeline have resumed (see other news).
The Commission is working on options to circumvent the Hungarian veto, without specifying which ones yet. According to our information, one option would be to mobilise budget guarantees from the 24 countries taking part in the operation.
Stability Pact. Without debate, the Ecofin Council will endorse a revision of Ireland’s multiannual budget programme for the 2026-2030 period (see EUROPE 13821/24). This programme, the first to be revised due to the formation of a new government, now envisages the following trajectory for annual public spending growth: 6.6% in 2026, 6.0% in 2027, 7.6% in 2028, 6.7% in 2029 and 6.4% in 2030.
See the revised multiannual budget programme for Ireland: https://aeur.eu/f/l0h
The EU Council will also endorse a revision of the national post-Covid-19 recovery plan requested by Estonia (see EUROPE 13821/31).
See the draft decision of the EU Council and its annex: https://aeur.eu/f/l2d
Trade/Climate. Finally, France wishes to address the issue of the specific characteristics of the outermost regions (ORs) in the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
In early 2026, France, Spain and Portugal launched an initiative to support the outermost regions, including measures to facilitate trade between these regions and their immediate environment (see EUROPE 13794/7).
Euro Summit. Briefly, ministers will prepare for the summit of euro area countries to be held in conjunction with the European Council of 19 and 20 March. Issues of competitiveness, the integration of capital markets and the digital euro will be addressed.
G20. Finally, ministers will hold an initial exchange of views on the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the G20 ‘Finance’, with a view to mandating the EU Council’s Economic and Financial Committee to draw up the usual terms of reference.
According to a European diplomat, the current geopolitical situation and the importance for the European Union of continuing to defend multilateralism is expected to be central to the discussions. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit and Mathieu Bion)