Economic and Financial Affairs

They decided to recommend that Croatia become the 20th member of the euro area. Ministers also discussed the fourteenth enhanced surveillance report on Greece, welcoming the assessment by European institutions that the necessary conditions are in place to confirm the release of the seventh tranche of policy-contingent debt measures, worth €748 million. The Eurogroup welcomed the Commission’s intention not to extend enhanced surveillance after its expiration on 20 August 2022, given the successful delivery of the bulk of Greece’s policy commitments. In other business, the Eurogroup was briefed by the Commission and the ECB on the main findings of the post-programme surveillance reports on Cyprus, Portugal, Ireland and Spain; adopted its work programme for the second half of 2022; received a presentation on the policy priorities of the new Slovenian government; and was briefed by the ECB on the latest monetary policy decisions of the Governing Council. Meeting in inclusive format, ministers discussed developments concerning the Banking Union, and adopted a statement on the future of the Banking Union. They also prepared for the Euro Summit that will take place on 24 June 2022.

During a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) on 17 June, ministers adopted a recommendation which will enable Croatia to become a member of the euro area, agreed the country-specific recommendations on the Member States' National Reform Programmes of 2022 and the Council opinions on the updated stability or convergence programmes, and took stock of the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

The study was carried out between April 20 and 29, 2022 in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden. The new survey shows broad support for the euro: on average, 60% of respondents said they were in favor of the introduction of the single currency. The most favorable opinions on adoption come from Romania (77% in favor) and Hungary (69%), while the least favorable are those from Bulgaria and the Czech Republic (44% in both cases) and Sweden (45%). More than half of respondents believe that the introduction of the common currency would have positive consequences for their country (55%). However, 56% of people who took part in the survey also think that the introduction of the euro will cause prices to rise. The results of the survey also show that the citizens of the Member States which do not yet belong to the euro area are more aware of this subject than before: 53% of those questioned consider themselves informed about the euro, against 51% last year and 44% in 2015.

The EU and euro area economies had been on a path of strong recovery and growth coming out of the pandemic, but a new surge in energy prices, linked to Europe's dependence on Russian energy, is driving inflation to record highs. Moreover, Ukraine and Russia produce almost a third of the world's wheat and barley and are major exporters of metals. Disruptions to these supply chains as well as rising costs for many raw materials have pushed up the cost of food and other basic goods and services. As a result, the EU recently cut its forecast for growth and hiked its inflation forecast. Real GDP growth in both the EU and the euro area is now expected to reach 2.7% percent in 2022 and 2.3% in 2023, down from 4.0% and 2.8% (2.7% in the euro area), respectively, from the winter 2022 interim forecast. Inflation – forecast at 3.9% just a few months ago – is now expected to average 6.8%. The war is also hurting some EU economies more than others. Germany’s growth forecast is one of the lowest in Europe at 1.6%. While the challenges are real, according to Maria Demertzis, Deputy Director of Brussels-based thinktank Bruegel, “the European economy is in a good position to wear this off. Now, whether we will manage it depends, of course, [on] also how the war itself develops."

The EU budget published on 7 June will continue to mobilise significant investments to boost Europe's strategic autonomy and the ongoing economic recovery, while safeguarding sustainability and creating jobs. The Commission will prioritise green and digital investments while addressing pressing needs arising from recent and current crises. Additional proposals to finance the impact of the war in Ukraine both externally and internally will be tabled later in the year, based on a more precise needs assessment, as per the European Council conclusions of 31 May 2022.

The Directive was proposed by the Commission in October 2020. At the start of her mandate, Commission President von der Leyen promised a legal instrument to ensure that workers in the EU have a fair minimum wage, and she repeated that pledge in her first State of the Union address in 2020. The Directive establishes a framework for ensuring the adequacy of statutory minimum wages, promoting collective bargaining on wage setting, and enhancing the effective access of workers to minimum wage protection in the EU. Adequate minimum wages are important to strengthen social fairness and underpin a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery. Better working and living conditions benefit businesses as well as society and the economy in general by boosting productivity and competitiveness. Some workers are affected by low adequacy and/or gaps in the coverage of minimum wage protection, however. The EU framework will be established by the new Directive in full respect of national traditions and competences, as well as the autonomy of social partners. It does not require Member States to introduce statutory minimum wages, nor does it set a common minimum wage level across the EU.

In November 2014 the European Commission inaugurated the ambitious Investment Plan for Europe. Now, the European Commission is launching a public consultation to assess its impact. Let us know what you think by filling up this survey!

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Registration has opened for the OECD Global Forum on Productivity (GFP) which will take place on 7 and 8 July 2022. The GFP aims to foster international co-operation between public bodies with responsibility for promoting productivity-enhancing policies.

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