On 1 January 2022, France took over the six-month, rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. In a speech on 25 January in the European Parliament, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire presented the economic and financial priorities for the coming six months. The French presidency’s priorities are in line with a broader programme co-developed with the upcoming Czech and Swedish presidencies. Mr Le Maire stressed in particular that, in order to achieve the digital and sustainable transitions, massive investment is needed – both public and private. So the presidency is determined to make progress on completing the Banking Union and continuing the work to create a true Capital Markets Union.

Sovereignty focus

As part of its sovereignty focus, the French presidency will seek to strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy in financial services and adopt Council conclusions on the matter. This covers the international role of the euro and developing strong, competitive and stable EU financial markets and infrastructure.

Regarding ongoing financial files, the French presidency hopes to reach agreement in the Council on the Solvency II insurance rules and the Consumer Credit Directive, ideally also on the Capital Markets Union package of November 2021 (including the European consolidated tape) and to move forward with the Basel III bank capital reforms. On sustainable finance, the French presidency will also seek to reach agreement among Member States on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Green Bond Standards proposals and move on to trilogues with the European Parliament and Commission.

Digital dossiers and AML

As for files already in trilogues, the French presidency will seek to finalise those on cybersecurity (Digital Operational Resilience Act proposal) and if possible on the regulation of crypto assets (Markets in Crypto Assets proposal), reflecting its priority to advance digital dossiers. As for anti-money laundering, the presidency hopes to conclude trilogues on the Transfer of Funds Regulation proposal, and move ahead on the rest of the July 2021 package.  

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