12 June 2019

European Commission: Deepening Europe's Economic and Monetary Union: Taking stock four years after the Five Presidents' Report

Almost exactly four years after the publication of the Five Presidents’ Report, this Communication is taking stock of the progress towards a deeper and fairer Economic and Monetary Union, in light of the overall economic context.

On 21 June 2019, EU Leaders will meet in Brussels to review progress of an agenda that lies at the heart of the European project and has been central to the EU's response to the post-2007 economic, financial and social crises: a deeper and fairer Economic and Monetary Union.  [...]

While the crisis gave a strong momentum to reform, the political will to push towards completing the Economic and Monetary Union has slowed somewhat, against the backdrop of a more favourable economic context. As a result, and in spite of undeniable improvements, important gaps remain in the architecture of the Economic and Monetary Union, which ultimately weigh on the international attractiveness of the euro and the EU's capacity to deliver jobs, economic growth, social fairness and macroeconomic stability. Following extensive consultations, the Commission presented in December 2017 a roadmap and a series of proposals to address the remaining gaps.

At the Euro Summit of June 2018 (held in inclusive format at 27), Leaders mandated the Eurogroup to work on a number of issues in view of reaching an agreement at the December 2018 Euro Summit. At that occasion, Leaders launched a fresh attempt to advance on crucial issues, notably

• implementing the common backstop for the Single Resolution Fund, agreed in principle already in 2012,
• strengthening the role of the European Stability Mechanism,
• defining the next steps towards the establishment of a European Deposit Insurance Scheme,
• outlining the design of a budgetary instrument for convergence and competitiveness for the euro area as part of the EU budget, and
• taking forward work aimed to strengthen the international role of the euro. 

While some progress has been made, all those work strands still remain to be completed.

Almost exactly four years after the publication of the Five Presidents’ Report, this Communication is taking stock of the progress towards a deeper and fairer Economic and Monetary Union, in light of the overall economic context. The sustained economic recovery in the euro area has recently shown certain signs of weakness, exacerbated by a more complex geopolitical context and trade tensions. Monetary policy has been heavily mobilised in the past several years in support of growth. Fiscal policy has turned mildly supportive in the euro area as a whole, but the room for manoeuvre remains limited in high debt countries. The capacity of our economies to withstand crises and bounce forward and to deliver long-term income growth and social fairness will depend in large parts on sound national policies and institutions, on the resilience of domestic economic and social structures and the quality of public finances. [...]

Full information

Opening remarks by Vice-President Dombrovskis on deepening Europe's Economic and Monetary Union

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