Main results

In inclusive format:

Transatlantic economic dialogue

Ministers exchanged views with the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States (US), Janet Yellen, on the global outlook and risks, with the aim of building a common understanding of the interconnected short- and long-run challenges in Europe and the US, and discussing economic and financial policies going forward.

A close EU-US relationship is more important than ever to uphold our commitment to freedom, democracy and the respect of human rights. Our discussion today focused on the economic outlook and challenges for the United States and for Europe, in this highly unstable global environment. Against this background, assessing the interlinked economic challenges and the risks we are facing from the current geopolitical developments is no simple task, but we are determined and confident we can steer through this storm together.

Paschal Donohoe, President of the Eurogroup

• Watch the press point following the dialogue
• US Department of the Treasury

Future of European capital and financial markets

Following the approach agreed on by the Eurogroup in inclusive format in May, ministers welcomed market participants and heard their experiences of accessing funding and investing in European capital markets. The focus was on fast-growing European companies looking for funding to scale up and investors searching for attractive investment opportunities across Europe. The aim of the discussions was to help identify solutions for unlocking funding in our capital markets.

Today’s engaging discussion evidenced the value of collecting first-hand experience from market participants, as it raised a number of possible solutions to improve our capital markets. These include activating more growth stage financing for EU scale-ups and developing a strong European exit market. It is also a reminder of our end goal: more private funding for EU companies to innovate, be competitive, and have the capacity to invest in the twin transition.

Paschal Donohoe, President of the Eurogroup

For this interactive session, the two guests were Zoé Fabian, who drew from her experience as managing director at Eurazeo Growth to provide the perspective of institutional investors, and Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO of Klarna, who gave the perspective of high-growth companies.

• Eurogroup, 15 May 2023
• Future of EU capital markets (background information)
• Capital markets union (background information)

In regular format:

Euro area priorities in the recovery and resilience plans and implementation of euro area recommendations

Based on the European Commission’s assessment and secretariat issues note, the Eurogroup discussed the implementation of the euro area recommendations for 2023 and the contribution of the Recovery and Resilience Facility to the euro area policy objectives. This allowed an exchange of views on the economic challenges and policy priorities for the euro area in the coming year.

On the challenges for policy actions in 2024, we all agreed that in the immediate future, the primary challenge lies in dealing with inflation and its impacts on fiscal policy, financial stability, wages, and more generally the labour market. However, as we look further into the future, we must also start thinking about addressing longer-term challenges, notably with regard to the competitiveness of our economies.

Paschal Donohoe, President of the Eurogroup

• A recovery plan for Europe (background information)

Digital euro

Ministers took the opportunity to look at the advancement of the digital euro project since their last exchange in July. The European Central Bank president, provided an update ahead of the governing council decision on whether to proceed with the next phase of the project. The Commission and the Council presidency also updated ministers on ongoing work on the proposal for the legal framework for the possible introduction of a digital euro.

• Towards a digital euro (background information)
• Eurogroup, 13 July 2023

Briefing on international meetings

Ministers took stock of the annual meetings in Marrakesh, based on briefings from the president and the institutions, as well as from the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) presidency.

• Annual meetings in Marrakesh (International Monetary Fund)