In a letter sent to the President of the European Council, António Costa, on Wednesday 11 March, the President of the Eurogroup, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, set out the euro area’s economic priorities and the work carried out by the Finance Ministers in recent months. The Heads of State or Government of the euro area countries will meet in the margins of the European Council on Thursday 19 March.
In this letter, Mr Pierrakakis stresses that the economic fundamentals of the euro area remain solid, despite an uncertain global environment.
Unemployment remains at historically low levels, and inflation is largely around the European Central Bank’s target, noted the President, who warned, however, of the risks associated with volatile energy markets in the context of tensions in the Middle East, as well as persistent structural challenges such as demographic ageing and weak productivity growth.
Mr Pierrakakis also highlights a number of priorities for the coming months, namely speeding up work on the Savings and Investment Union, strengthening European competitiveness and better coordination of budgetary policies in order to preserve the sustainability of public finances while mobilising strategic investments, notably in defence and the energy transition.
Finally, Mr Pierrakakis stresses the need to strengthen the international role of the euro and to adapt the European financial system to digital transformations through work on the digital euro and the development of more autonomous European payment systems.
See the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/l4s (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)