Ó An Roinn Caiteachais Phoiblí, Seachadta ar an bPlean Forbartha Náisiúnta, agus Athchóirithe
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An t-eolas is déanaí
Teanga: Níl leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil.
President of the Eurogroup and Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, is in Brussels today (Monday) to chair the first Eurogroup meeting of the year.
The Eurogroup meeting of European Finance Ministers will begin with a presentation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the outcome of its interim Article IV staff visit to the euro area. The Article IV review of the euro area is a regular exercise in which the IMF reviews economic developments, consults with euro area policy-makers and provides targeted policy advice. The IMF review is expected to be concluded by June 2024. Ministers will also hear from the institutions on their assessment of the latest macroeconomic developments and outlook.
Ministers will then discuss the draft recommendations on the economic policy of euro area for 2024, ahead of their approval at the EU Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN). Based on Commission proposals, the Council addresses annual recommendations on economic policy to the euro area as a whole within the European Semester. The recommendations are first discussed in the Eurogroup and formally adopted by the Council after endorsement in the March European Council.
As part of the workstream on euro area competitiveness, the Eurogroup will hold a second discussion and exchange views on the external competitiveness of the euro area, with a focus on energy price developments, their impact on the euro area economy and the policy responses going forward. Ministers will hear from Christian Zinglersen, the director of the EU agency for the cooperation of energy regulators (ACER), and Jeromin Zettelmeyer, Director of Bruegel, for their perspectives.
The President of the Eurogroup will present the Eurogroup Work Programme, which covers the first half of this year, for the endorsement of Ministers.
Finally, under Miscellaneous, the Eurogroup will take stock of the state of play of the ESM treaty ratification, which is still outstanding in Italy.
While in Brussels, Minister Donohoe will meet with newly appointed Spanish Finance Minister, Carlos Cuerpo. He will also attend an event to mark the launch of Belgium’s Council Presidency with Belgian Finance Minister Vincent van Peteghem.
On Tuesday, the Eurogroup President will attend the ministerial meeting of ECOFIN to debrief on Eurogroup discussions.
Speaking ahead of Eurogroup, Minister Donohoe commented:
“The first Eurogroup meeting of the new year is an opportunity to reaffirm our priorities for the time ahead. Our work centres on four key themes, the coordination of economic policy; competitiveness of the euro area; continuing on work on the future of European Capital Markets; and our shared currency, including its international role, the digital euro project, and euro area enlargement.
"Today’s engagement with the IMF on the Article IV Review is a valuable opportunity to exchange views on current developments and emerging challenges. I’m also looking forward to our substantive discussion on the euro area’s competitiveness, focused on energy prices and policy responses, informed by expert guests from ACER and Bruegel. The goal of this workstream is ultimately to identify best practice and policies that strengthen our economic resilience.”