Press release
Minister Donohoe travels to Brussels for July Eurogroup meeting
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Published on
Last updated on
Work on euro area economic coordination and discussion on competitiveness to feature
President of the Eurogroup and Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, is in Brussels today (Monday), 15 July 2024, where he will chair the July Eurogroup meeting.
The Eurogroup meeting will begin with a discussion on the economic and budgetary situation across the euro area, informed by a presentation by the Chairman of the European Fiscal Board, Niels Thygesen. The Eurogroup is expected to adopt a statement on the direction of budgetary policy for the euro area in 2025. These statements are an integral part of the economic coordination work of the Eurogroup and feed into Member States’ budgetary preparations for next year. Following this, other agenda items include a discussion on the Eurogroup work priorities until March 2025, as well as reports from the European Commission and the ECB on progress by non-euro area EU Member States towards fulfilling the criteria necessary to adopt the euro.
Ministers will then meet in extended format (all EU 27 countries) to continue work on euro area competitiveness. For this item, Ministers will discuss funding and investment gaps across the EU, which will be informed by the perspective of Mr Enrico Letta following his recent report on the European Single Market.
On Tuesday, 16 July, the Eurogroup President will attend the Ecofin meeting of EU Finance Ministers to debrief on the work of the Eurogroup.
Minister Donohoe said:
“The July Eurogroup meeting always marks the period in our calendar when we look to agree a common positon on the direction for budgetary policy for the year ahead. The economic backdrop to our discussions has been challenging but I expect that growth will pick-up both this year and in 2025. I remain firmly of the view that we need to bring borrowing levels down further and I am confident that we can reach agreement on this. We will also continue our discussions on euro area competitiveness, a topic that has received significant political attention. It is a key priority for us and I look forward to welcoming Enrico Letta to our meeting to discuss the funding gap in the EU. Investment needs are substantial and it is important that we have frank and open discussions on the best solutions to finance them.”
While in Brussels, Minister Donohoe will also have bilateral meetings with the Chair of the European Fiscal Board, Niels Thygesen, the new Finance Minister of the Netherlands, Eelco Heinen, and Enrico Letta, President of the Jacques Delors Institute.
ENDS