Press release
Minister Chambers to represent Ireland at July meetings of Eurogroup and ECOFIN Finance Ministers
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Finance Jack Chambers TD is in Brussels today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday) to represent Ireland at the July meetings of the Eurogroup and the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). This will be the first time Minister Chambers represents Ireland at these meetings since taking up office as Minister for Finance on 26 June.
At the Eurogroup, Ministers will discuss the fiscal stance of the euro area and the Eurogroup work programme until March 2025. There will also be discussion on Euro Area competitiveness with a presentation from former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta on his recent report on the future of the single market. The European Council requested this report in June 2023 and it was published in April 2024.
At ECOFIN on Tuesday, Finance Ministers will meet to consider a range of issues; The Hungarian Presidency will present their work programme and priorities for the six months ahead. There will be an exchange of views amongst Ministers on the economic and financial impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The European Commission will provide an update on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and an update on the state of play of financial services legislative proposals.
Minister will also discuss the annual European Semester process and the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), discussing the existence of excessive deficits in a number of member states.
Speaking ahead of the meetings, Minister Chambers said:
I look forward to engaging with my Finance Ministerial colleagues from across Europe at a busy two days of discussions in Brussels. These regular meetings of Finance Ministers are an important forum for the European Union to coordinate on economic and fiscal policy.
I will attend my first meeting of the Eurogroup today and will meet with many of my counterparts from across the EU.
At ECOFIN on Tuesday, we will begin by hearing from our Hungarian colleagues on the priorities of their Presidency and then move to the ongoing implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
There will be an exchange on the ongoing economic and financial impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and we will consider how Europe can bolster the support we are providing. We will also be looking at the latest elements of the European Semester, including country specific recommendations and conclusions in regards to in-depth reviews under the macroeconomic imbalance procedure.
We will then discuss the implementation of the Stability and Growth pact, exchange views on convergence reports prepared by the European Commission and the ECB on whether certain member states satisfy the conditions to adopt the euro. Finally, we will look at the EU’s terms of reference ahead of the G20 on 24-25 July in Rio de Janeiro.
I look forward to meeting my counterparts from across the European Union, and working closely with them in the meetings ahead.
Note for editors:
** In 2023 the European Council asked the former head of the Italian Government, Enrico Letta, to write a report on the future of the Single Market. It was released in April 2024.
*** The presidency of the Council rotates among the EU member states every six months. Hungary holds the presidency from 1st July to 31 December 2024.