Brussels, 23/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - EU finance ministers will finalise preparations on Tuesday 27 February for the Spring summit of 8-9 March, adopting a key issues paper and other reports to be submitted to EU heads of state. Two clearing and settlement issues are also on the ECOFIN Council's agenda.
As part of its preparations for the European Council, the Council will adopt two documents on the annual review of the Lisbon Strategy (see EUROPE 9327). Already discussed at the previous ECOFIN Council (see EUROPE 9355), the Council will finalise the key issues paper listing the main European Council economic and financial targets. It will also produce the 2007 update of the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines (BEPG) for 2005-2008, along with recommendations for each member state and the eurozone. Ministers will also adopt conclusions on reducing red tape, endorsing the European Commission's target of cutting the administrative burden on companies by a quarter by 2012 (see EUROPE 9351).
As usual, Eurogroup on Monday evening will discuss the economic situation in the eurozone, following the European Commission's recent upward assessment of growth prospects (see EUROPE 9368). The finance ministers of the 13 eurozone member states will discuss differences in inflation levels within the zone and pay pressure in order to determine desirable changes depending on each country's productivity and competitiveness levels. Ahead of discussions among the EU27 ministers the next day, Eurogroup is expected to improve the integrated growth and job guidelines for the eurozone.
The ECOFIN Council on Tuesday will adopt opinions on all the Stability and Convergence Programmes already analysed by the European Commission, namely the Stability Programmes for Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovenia and the Convergence Programmes for Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden and the UK (see EUROPE 9350, 9361 and 9365). The ECOFIN Council will decide on measures concerning Poland's excess budget deficit, which the European Commission is recommending should be corrected by the end of 2007 (see EUROPE 9361).
In the financial services industry, European finance ministers will be assessing progress to date in two issues surrounding the clearing and settlement industry. The European Central Bank will brief ministers on progress in the T2S, Target-2-Securities programme to establish a common settlement engine capable of settling securities in central bank money in the eurozone (see EUROPE 9272). The project only covers the clearing and settlement side of post-market operations to ensure the transfer of ownership and payment between purchasers and sellers. The ministers will adopt prudent conclusions on T2S, calling on the ECB to proceed on a step-by-step basis, ensure the economic viability of the project and solve governance issues surrounding the idea of a new settlement engine and the question of T2S managers' responsibility vis-à-vis market players.
EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy will brief the ECOFIN Council on progress in implementing the voluntary Code of Conduct, signed by the European clearing and settlement industry in November 2006. The Code of Conduct aims to increase competition in cross-border clearing and settlement by cutting costs in three main stages: introducing price transparency at operator level by the end of 2006; introducing conditions to boost access to operator services and technical interoperability by July 2007; and unbundling services provided by operators and their recording on the ledger from January 2008 onwards. (ab / mb)