Economic and Financial Affairs

In her speech, President von der Leyen identified two key challenges to boosting global sustainable investment: first, how to attract more capital towards sustainable investment; and second, how to bring more countries on board, and raise the global ambition. The President also spoke about the current rise in energy prices, noting that “we all see how crucial it is to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels such as gas, oil and coal,” and concluding that “we have to speed up our work on the European Green Deal to become more energy independent.” The speech was also an occasion for the President to highlight Europe's commitment and leadership. “Europe can lead by the power of its example. Europe has become the home of sustainable investment,” she said. President von der Leyen noted that the European green bond market today is worth around €1 trillion, that the EU has built the largest carbon market in the world through its Emissions Trading System, and that later this month, the EU will start issuing green bonds worth €250 billion, as part of NextGenerationEU. Finally, looking ahead to the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, the President said: “The COP26 in Glasgow will be a moment of truth for the global community. Ambitions need to be backed by concrete plans. And Europe will continue to engage, with the highest level of ambition.”

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This is an important step towards the EU disbursing grants of €2.1 billion to Finland and €969.3 million to Estonia under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The financing provided by the RRF will support the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in each country’s recovery and resilience plan. It will play a significant role in enabling the two Member States to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. The RRF is the key instrument at the heart of NextGenerationEU which will provide up to €800 billion (in current prices) to support investments and reforms across the EU. The Finnish and Estonian plans form part of an unprecedented and coordinated EU response to the COVID-19 crisis. They address common European challenges by embracing the green and digital transitions to strengthen economic and social resilience and the cohesion of the Single Market. The Commission assessed the plans based on the criteria set out in the RRF Regulation, focusing on whether investments and reforms support the green and digital transitions; contribute to effectively addressing challenges identified in the European Semester; and strengthen growth potential, job creation and economic and social resilience.

The director of the EU Agency for the Coordination of Energy Regulators (ACER), Christian Zinglersen, updated the Eurogroup on recent energy price developments. Ahead of the upcoming annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, ministers also reviewed exchange rate developments over the past months. The Eurogroup took stock of the implementation of euro area priorities in the recovery and resilience plans based on a presentation by the European Commission. Ministers also exchanged views on the 2022 programme of the Eurogroup thematic discussions on growth and jobs, and discussed the 11th enhanced surveillance report on Greece. The report is not linked to a decision on policy-contingent debt measures. Regarding banking union, the chair of the European Central Bank (ECB) Supervisory Board, Andrea Enria, informed the Eurogroup about the supervisory tasks carried out under ECB banking supervision, focusing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on credit risk, emerging risks that warrant supervisory action, the structural transformation of the European banking sector, and the adjustment of business models due to digitisation and climate risk. Lastly, the chair of the Single Resolution Board (SRB), Elke König, updated the Eurogroup on recent activities undertaken by the SRB, focusing on priorities such as banks' resolvability, the minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL), preparation for the implementation phase of the common backstop, and the recent rulings of the European Court of Justice affecting the SRB.

They also exchanged views on the state of play regarding SURE, a European instrument for providing temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency, which was launched as part of the EU’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ministers exchanged views on the lessons learned from the European Semester 2021 and on how to align the implementation of the RRF with the next cycle of the European Semester. They continued the preparations for the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors scheduled for 13-14 October 2021, and for the IMF annual meeting. They also approved the G20 EU terms of reference and the statement to the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), as well as conclusions on climate finance ahead of the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow. After a presentation by the Commission of new proposals, ministers were invited to express their views on the revision of prudential rules for insurance and reinsurance companies, within the Solvency II framework.

The programme is a concrete demonstration of the EU's solidarity with its partners, helping them to respond to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission has disbursed €125 million to Bosnia and Herzegovina and €50 million to the Republic of Moldova. This support is provided through loans at very favourable rates. With these disbursements, the EU has successfully completed five out of the 10 MFA programmes in the €3 billion COVID-19 MFA package and disbursed the first tranches to all partners. The Commission continues to work closely with the rest of its MFA partners on the timely implementation of the agreed policy programmes.

The theme of this year’s edition is ‘Charting the European economy post Covid-19: unusual times require unconventional policies’. The opening session of the conference will examine the main policy challenges in the post-COVID-19 world and how we can turn these challenges into opportunities to restore the growth potential of the EU economy. The session, organised at the Alcide de Gasperi room, will begin with an opening address by Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni followed by a panel discussion with Directors-General Maarten Verwey, Stephen Quest (Director-General of ECFIN and Director-General of the JRC, respectively), and Professor Lucrezia Reichlin (Professor of Economics at London Business School). Commissioner Mariya Gabriel (Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth) will address the Conference before the keynote speech by Lucrezia Reichlin that closes the morning session. Join Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Mariya Gabriel, ECFIN Director-General Maarten Verwey, JRC Director-General Stephen Quest, Professor Lucrezia Reichlin and more than twenty other speakers in exploring the consequences of the pandemic for Europe’s firms and consumers, economic policy and social cohesion, and help chart the post-pandemic European economy and society.