At a meeting of the European Council on 19 October, EU leaders stressed that they are "ready to do what it takes for Europe to go digital", building on the conclusions of the Tallinn Digital Summit of 29 September. Leaders examined how the EU can seize the opportunities and address the challenges posed by digitalisation. They agreed on a series of priorities to build a successful digital Europe, such as: bringing governments and public sectors fully into the digital age; completing the digital single market strategy by the end of 2018; building a first-rate infrastructure and communications network; adopting a common approach to cyber security; stepping up efforts to combat terrorism and online crime; and achieving an effective and fair taxation system fit for the digital era. The European Council called on the EU institutions to step up legislative work on Digital Europe, and on the Member States to implement EU legislation and take all the necessary measures to shape the new digital era. Leaders also agreed on consolidating the approach to migration, increasing cooperation on security and defence, and adopted conclusions on the state of the Brexit negotiations.

At a high-level policy conference held on 19 October, top experts addressed the topic of “Reinventing Convergence: Towards Resilient Economic Structures”. Participants in the conference pondered questions such as “What are next steps in the drive towards upward economic convergence?” and “How can the EU help build resilience in its Member States to ensure that upgraded economic performance and improved social outcomes can withstand shocks and be sustainable over time?” The event was jointly organised by the European Political Strategy Centre (EPSC), ECFIN and the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Commissioner Pierre Moscovici participated in the conference as did António Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal, and Pier Carlo Padoan, Minister of Economy and Finance of Italy. These and other high-level experts helped define how to translate the concepts of convergence and resilience into concrete policy actions and initiatives during four sessions.

On 19 October, ECFIN and the European Investment Bank Group hosted a special seminar for journalists on "The Investment Plan for Europe: Moving Towards EFSI 2.0". The seminar covered a range of topics related to the Investment Plan including the social dimension of the Investment Plan, a discussion on achievements and the way forward presented by Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen and EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle and chaired by Annika Breidthardt, ECFIN Coordinating Spokesperson. Paulina Dejmek-Hack, Member of the Cabinet and Financial Adviser to President Juncker, hosted a session entitled "A parliamentary view on the Investment Plan for Europe" during which three Members of the European Parliament shared their perspectives on the Investment Plan. The session on "Greening Europe and supporting the circular economy through the Investment Plan" featured inspiring case studies by Carlos Mancholas, CFO of the SAICA recycled paper project in Spain, and Marc Dauzat, Director of the EcoTitanium project in France. European Investment Fund support for SMEs and smaller projects was profiled in a series of case studies from the Czech Republic and France.

The Investment Plan for Europe - the Juncker Plan - is now expected to trigger EUR 240.9 billion in investments, or just over three-quarters of the EUR 315 billion target, based on operations approved under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of EUR 47.4 billion. Around 461,000 SMEs in all 28 Member States are expected to benefit from improved access to finance as a result of agreements supported by the Plan. Moreover, the Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group estimate that the EFSI has so far supported 300,000 jobs across the EU, and that by 2020 that figure should be 700,000. On 19 October, the European Investment Fund (EIF) signed three new SME Initiative guarantee transactions that will facilitate access to finance for around 300 Romanian SMEs and start-ups. At the same time the EIB provided a EUR 7.5 million loan to GreenFiber International SA to finance a recycling and circular economy project. The EIB has also agreed to provide EUR 100 million to finance construction of the new Amphia Hospital in Breda, the Netherlands. As a result of a EUR 40 million loan from the EIB, Mecachrome Aeronáutica has inaugurated a new plant for manufacturing titanium parts for aircraft engines in Évora, Portugal. An agreement between Bpifrance and the EIF will provide EUR 600 million in financing for SMEs in France, on top of the EUR 800 already provided.

Staff from the European Commission, in liaison with staff from the European Central Bank, carried out the eighth post-programme surveillance visit to Spain on 16-18 October 2017. Amid continued strong economic growth, well above the euro area average, banks have further adjusted their business models and cost structures, in turn supporting growth by providing new loans to the economy. On aggregate, they comfortably meet the regulatory capital requirements and the quality of banking sector assets has further strengthened, as the level and ratio of non-performing loans continues to drop. Challenges remain, however. The government deficit is still high, and government debt is only slowly declining and remains at just below 100% of GDP. Moreover, even though a sizeable reduction in private debt has been achieved, some sectors remain overleveraged. Similarly, unemployment has been declining at a fast pace, but remains very high especially among young and low-skilled workers. Finally, structural weaknesses hinder higher productivity growth. 

The Commission, on behalf of the EU, has approved the disbursement of a EUR 100 million loan to Jordan under its Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) programme. The disbursement approved on 17 October marks the launch of the second Macro-Financial Assistance programme for Jordan with a total worth of EUR 200 million, which follows a first package of EUR 180 million approved in 2013 and fully disbursed in 2015. The disbursement of the second EUR 100 million instalment is expected to take place during the course of 2018, depending on Jordan fulfilling agreed commitments. Macro-Financial Assistance to Jordan is intended to strengthen the country's foreign exchange reserve position and to help Jordan meet its balance of payments and budgetary financing needs. The MFA programme will also support reforms in a number of areas, including public finance management, the tax and social safety net systems; education and professional training; and trade policies; as well as active labour market policies aimed at increasing employment opportunities for both Jordanian citizens and Syrian refugees living in Jordan.

At the end of the second quarter of 2017, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area stood at 89.1%, compared with 89.2% at the end of the first quarter of 2017. In the EU, the ratio also decreased, from 83.6% to 83.4%. Compared with the second quarter of 2016, the government debt to GDP ratio fell in both the euro area (from 90.8% to 89.1%) and the EU (from 83.8% to 83.4%). As of the end of the second quarter of 2017, debt securities accounted for 80.3% of euro area and for 81.4% of EU general government debt. Loans made up 16.6% and 14.5% respectively and currency and deposits represented 3.1% of euro area and 4.1% of EU government debt. The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the second quarter of 2017 were recorded in Greece (175.0%), Italy (134.7%) and Portugal (132.1%), and the lowest in Estonia (8.9%), Luxembourg (23.4%) and Bulgaria (27.7%). Compared with the first quarter of 2017, seven Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the second quarter of 2017 and twenty a decrease, while the debt to GDP ratio remained stable in the United Kingdom.