Brussels, 31/08/2004 (Agence Europe) - During the informal Ecofin Council on 11-12 September, finance ministers from the EU will debate the proposals on reform of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), which the European Commission will be unveiling on 3 September in a communication. Addressing the economic and monetary committee of the European Parliament, to which it presented the Ecofin Council's programme on Tuesday, under the Dutch presidency, finance minister Gerrit Zalm, nevertheless, expalined that he did not know whether they would have a consensus on SGP reform during the Dutch presidency.
Another subject that ministers will be examining during the Scheveningen meeting in the Netherlands and which is, on the other hand, one of the Dutch presidency's top priorities, is the reduction of administrative charges for companies.
In an effort to get the case seen by the Luxembourg presidency in the best possible conditions, the Netherlands also intends to tackle financial prospects for 2007-13, during this informal meeting.
Finally, according to indications from the Dutch finance minister, Wim Kok, who chaired the high level group in charge of the mid-term review of the Lisbon Agenda, Scheveningen will also examine the progress of the report expected at the beginning of November.