Minister Chambers to represent Ireland at the December Eurogroup and ECOFIN

The Minister for Finance Jack Chambers is in Brussels to represent Ireland at the December meetings of the Eurogroup (Monday 9 December) and the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) (Tuesday 10 December).

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Minister Chambers said:

"As 2024 draws to a close, I am looking forward to engaging with my ministerial colleagues and taking stock on several challenges of critical importance for citizens and businesses right across the EU. It has been a very busy year with a strong focus on issues such as competitiveness, Capital Markets Union and our continued support for Ukraine.

"On Monday at the Eurogroup, I look forward to discussing macroeconomic and fiscal developments in the euro area, which will include a presentation from the IMF. This month we are especially pleased to welcome UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves who will attend the international dialogue item.

"At ECOFIN on Tuesday, we will begin with Customs Union reform, an important package which aims to modernise and streamline the EU customs system. We will then resume our discussions on the revision of the energy tax directive.

"We will hear from the President of the European Court of Auditors on their recently published annual report on the implementation of the EU budget. We will also discuss the ongoing application of the new economic governance framework.

"After this, we will return to the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the economic and financial impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine."

At the Eurogroup there will be updates from the Commission on macroeconomic developments, the assessment of euro area draft-budgetary plans and also a discussion with the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.

ECOFIN starts on Tuesday morning with a formal working breakfast and the usual updates on the economic situation as well as a debrief on the outcome from the COP29 meeting and the Eurogroup the previous day.

Following on from the breakfast, Finance Ministers will consider a range of issues. There will be a progress report on the Customs union reform package, a debate on the revisions to the energy taxation directive, and a presentation on the European Court of Auditors’ annual report on the implementation of the budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023.

There will also 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. The European Commission will also present on the publication of its Autumn Package which includes the application of the new economic governance framework.