The director of the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC), Andrea Ammon, updated the Eurogroup on the COVID-19 epidemiological situation. Ministers followed up with a discussion on the economic situation and exchanged views with the chair of the European Parliament's committee on economic and monetary affairs, Irene Tinagli. The Eurogroup also discussed the lessons learned from the uneven impact of COVID-19 across economic sectors and regions. Ministers focused on the implications of the pandemic in the medium-term in terms of policy actions necessary to avoid divergences. The discussion was supported by a note prepared by the European Commission on the issue of convergence in the euro area. Following their agreement in previous meetings to monitor solvency and restructuring needs, ministers also discussed the solvency situation in the corporate sector, as well as potential measures to facilitate corporate restructuring and economic adjustment in the euro area during the post-COVID recovery period. Lastly, the European Central Bank (ECB) briefed the Eurogroup on the decision of the ECB Governing Council of July 2021 to launch the investigation phase of the digital euro project.