Programme for Monday's session

Brussels, 24/02/2000 (Agence Europe) - As now often happens, the EcoFin Council meeting on Monday 28 February under the chairmanship of Portuguese Finance Minister Joaquim Pina Moura will be preceded by a meeting of the "Euro Group". The Council session as such will be dominated by the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact in the light of the revised programmes: - stability, presented by Germany, Belgium, Spain and Italy; - convergence, presented by Denmark and the United Kingdom. The Recommendations issued on these by the European Commission - which will be represented by Mr. Solbes - are positive on the whole, even though the wording "could do better" appears in several cases (see EUROPE of 16 February, pp.9/10). EUROPE has reason to believe that the Economic and Financial Committee also concluded that these Member States were on the whole respecting the undertakings made under the Pact, broadly sharing the Commission's Recommendations.

For the rest, Ministers should broach the following topics:

• Broad Economic Policy Guidelines. At this stage, it will only be a question of a policy debate.
• Functioning of the market in products and capital. Commissioner Bolkestein will present the broad outlines of the report the Commission adopted earlier this year in the framework of the Cardiff Process (see EUROPE of 27 January, p.13).
• Extraordinary European Council of Lisbon. Ministers will continue preparing it in the light, among other things, of the working paper drawn up by the Economic and Financial Committee. EUROPE has reason to believe that Philippe Maystadt should take part in these discussions and set out in what way the European Investment Bank he chairs could contribute to the Summit's success.
• Economic and Monetary Union. Commissioner Pedro Solbes will present the major outlines of the action the Commission is considering in terms of an information strategy in anticipation of the placing into circulation of the euro. Ministers will discuss the establishment of a European Technical and Scientific Centre in the framework of protecting the euro against counterfeiting.

Over lunch the Presidency will brief the Fifteen of the morning's work of the "Euro Group". It will also be a question of the candidature the EU should put forward for the post of Director General of the International Monetary Fund, left vacant by Michel Camdessus (France). There seems to be no more doubt that the current German State Secretary for Finance, Caio Koch-Weser will be chosen (see EUROPE of 17 February, p.7), but some information suggests that the United States and Japan could also put forward candidates. EUROPE recalls that the post of Director General of the IMF traditionally goes to a European and that of President of the World Bank to an American.