Luxembourg: The ECOFIN Council is set to adopt modified plans from Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, and Slovenia under the recovery and resilience facility, a press release by the European Commission says. The Finance Ministers of the euro area and the EU are gathering in Luxembourg on 19 and 20 June for meetings of the Eurogroup and the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN).
According to Cyprus News Agency, on Thursday, Commissioners Valdis Dombrovskis and Maria Lus Albuquerque will represent the Commission at the Eurogroup meeting. The discussions will cover the findings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Article IV consultation, recent budgetary developments in the euro area, and Bulgaria’s euro area accession. The ministers will also focus on competitiveness, with a presentation by the IMF on internal market barriers, followed by a discussion on the state of play of the digital euro.
On Friday, Commissioners Maro‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡ ‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬¦ efcovic, Dombrovskis, and Albuquerque will represent the Commission at the ECOFIN meeting. Commissioner ‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬¦ efcovic will present the Commission’s views on the customs union reform package, during which the Council’s progress report on the package will be discussed. Commissioner Albuquerque will update ministers on the state of financial services legislative proposals, and Commissioner Dombrovskis will handle the remaining items on the agenda.
Ministers will exchange views on the 2025 European Semester Spring package, adopt a horizontal note on country-specific recommendations, and discuss national medium-term fiscal-structural plans. They will also make decisions and recommendations under the excessive deficit procedure. The ministers will be invited to adopt the euro area recommendation, paving the way for Bulgaria to adopt the euro by January 2026, and will hold debates on competitiveness, energy prices, and the economic impact of Russia’s actions against Ukraine. Under the recovery and resilience facility, the Council is expected to adopt modified plans from several member states and approve a biannual report on tax issues and conclusions on the progress of the Code of Conduct Group.