Brussels, 06/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - EU finance ministers will be meeting on 7 and 8 April in Vienna for the informal Ecofin under the Austrian EU Presidency. After this, on 8 and 9 April, they are to meet their Asian counterparts of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM).
On Friday morning, the relatively short Eurogroup meeting will mainly cover the evolution of the economic and budgetary situation (a question also tackled in the afternoon by the EU25 ministers). The finance ministers of the Twelve are to discuss world disequilibrium, especially the appreciation of Asian currencies and the euro against the dollar. Enlargement of the eurozone will also be discussed. This enlargement remains tributary to the reports that the Commission and the European Central Bank are to publish in May on the Slovenian and Lithuanian candidatures. The central bank governors will hold a separate working lunch.
Over lunch, ministers will discuss the common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB). In favour of harmonising the corporate tax base, the Austrian Presidency may present a memo on the common rules for calculating this base. On Wednesday, Laslo Kovacs, Commission for Taxation and Customs Union, said that discussions will focus on “working methods” and on “future stages”. He presented a report which draws up an inventory of the work already carried out and to be done with a view to a European legislative initiative announced for 2008 (see EUROPE 9168). Work on the CCCTB will continue during the afternoon at the level of the directors-general of the national tax administrations. Still over lunch, finance ministers will discuss the Ecofin Council's working methods.
On Friday afternoon, ministers will prepare the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and of the World Bank, on 22 and 23 April in Washington (at the level of the International Monetary and Financial Committee - IMCF - and the Development Committee - DC). On the basis of a document by the economic and monetary committee, they will above all discuss the question of reform of the shares of IMF members in the context of its strategic revision, and will examine a communication from the Austrian Presidency to the IMCF. Ministers will hold an exchange of views on the stability of financial markets.
On Saturday, Ecofin discussions will be largely devoted to globalisation. Three questions will be raised: How to strengthen competitiveness and the attractiveness of Europe in terms of internal direct investment and foreign direct investment? How can one ensure fairer distribution between citizens of the benefits and cost of adjusting to globalisation? What are the advantages and the disadvantages of drawing up extra guidelines in the field of corporate social responsibility? The presidents of large companies such as Nestlé, Telefonica and Volkswagen will contribute to the debates on the basis of Commission and Austrian Presidency documents. Discussions will be to the backdrop of alleged protectionist resurgence in some Member States. They will continue during lunch in the presence of the president of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which promotes entrepreneurial spirit in the United States.
After the informal Ecofin meeting, European finance ministers will meet their Asian counterparts in the context of ASEM. This meeting will cover the economic challenges and cooperation between the two regions of the world. It will prepare the ASEM Summit to be held in Helsinki in September. ASEM is composed of the 10 ASEAN member nations (Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam) in addition to China, Japan and South Korea.