Meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN)
Council of the EU (Brussels)
© Le Conseil de l'Union européenne
- On: 08.07.2008
- In: Brussels
The ECOFIN Council will be chaired by Christine Lagarde, the Minister for the Economy, Industry and Employment.
Christine Lagarde will present the method and working programme of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In a period of strong economic uncertainty - financial turmoil, rising oil prices, volatility in the foreign exchange markets - she will remind the ECOFIN Council of its particular responsibility for achieving results in the economic and financial domain in response to the expectations of European citizens.
As part of its loaded agenda, the Presidency will propose in particular that the Council strengthens the European financial system through a more harmonised monitoring system better adapted to the reality of major European groups. With regard to fiscal affairs, the Presidency wishes to advance work on VAT issues. It will place particular emphasis on the fight against fraud and tax evasion and also launch a debate on the role of taxation in the protection of the environment. Lastly, the Presidency will propose a work agenda to the Council on rising oil prices, and will carry on the work begun on the governance of the euro zone.
From July onwards, the Presidency hopes to encourage constructive debates. Following the mandate given by the European Council on 19 and 20 June last, the Presidency will present a roadmap relating to oil prices which summarises the work requested by the ECOFIN Council and the European Commission. The Presidency is also looking forward to receiving the Commission's proposals on monitoring rating agencies.
More specifically, the Council will address the following points:
In the framework of the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact, Belgium and Poland's stability programmes will be examined, together with the excessive public deficit procedures in Polond and the United Kingdom.
The Council will also review Slovakia's adoption of the euro.
The ministers will discuss rising oil prices, and how best to organise the work on this issue and the answers required to tackle higher oil prices in the coming months.
The ministers will adopt conclusions on the situation of the financial markets and the implementation of the Council's roadmap on financial stability. These conclusions will focus mainly on ratings agencies and the transparency of financial markets, but will also touch on the reform of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) which establishes IFRS accounting standards.
At the end of the Council meeting, the Presidency will make a speech on the occasion of the celebrations for Slovakia's entry into the euro zone.
See also Slovakia will become the 16th country to adopt the euro in 2009
See also Main results of the first ECOFIN Council of the French Presidency (Announcement)
- Updated: 23.12.2008
