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- Ελληνικά
The work of the EU's Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) concluded today in Brussels. The first topic of the Council was the adoption of the National Reconstruction Plan of Ukraine in the presence, via teleconference, of the Minister of Finance of Ukraine, Mr. Serhiy Marchenko. The Minister of Finance of Ukraine warmly thanked the European Finance Ministers for their continued support, noting that this is of major importance for the maintenance of economic activity, but also for the future recovery.
The Ministers also reached an agreement on a general approach on the FASTER tax proposal, which provides for more efficient and safer tax withholding procedures in the European Union (EU) for investors, financial intermediaries and state tax administrations. The aim is to combat tax fraud and support cross-border investment across the EU. Furthermore, Finance Ministers endorsed the revised Recovery and Resilience Plans of Italy and Spain, and adopted conclusions on the fiscal consequences of ageing populations and the importance of financial education.
Yesterday, Mr. Thunder participated in the Eurogroup proceedings, where the European Commission presented economic developments on the basis of the spring forecasts expected to be released tomorrow, 15 May. According to the European Commission, it reaffirms that economic growth is expected to accelerate further in 2024, with inflation falling to return to the 2% target in 2025. It underlined, however, that risks based on geopolitical developments remain.
Euro area finance ministers, also in an enlarged format, i.e. with the participation of the finance ministers of all 27 member states, continued the discussion on the next steps to deepen the Capital Markets Union, exchanging views on the national measures being implemented and adopting a roadmap for discussions in the coming period on the basis of the leaders' mandate to intensify work.
In his intervention, Mr. Kerynos reiterated Cyprus' support to the efforts to accelerate the work on deepening the Capital Markets Union in the EU. He further noted that Cyprus continues to support all efforts that will contribute to the development of a competitive capital market that ensures financial stability and resilience. In this context, he reiterated support for the promotion of targeted measures as agreed in the March 2024 Eurogroup Statement, following an impact analysis by the EU, including the issue of completing the supervision of capital markets within the EU.
At the same time, the Finance Minister agreed with the programme of further work and discussions of the Eurogroup, on the basis of a proposal by the President of the Eurogroup. Mr. Kerynos also briefly mentioned the national initiatives implemented by Cyprus to promote the deepening of the Capital Markets Union, with emphasis on the implementation of the National Strategy for improving financial literacy.
Finally, views were exchanged on the ways in which investment in research, innovation and human capital can improve the competitiveness of the EU economy.
(MS/NYAN)
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