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Ministers exchanged views on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The Presidency outlined the main elements of the agreement with the European Parliament and the next steps. The Commission provided horizontal information about the preparation of the national plans and ministers shared their experiences with the preparations.
The European Parliament is due to vote on the regulation establishing the facility at its February plenary session, prior to the formal adoption by the Council. The facility is expected to enter into force in the second half of February, after which member states can start submitting their recovery and resilience plans officially.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility is a core element of Europeʼs response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Working for its swift and smooth implementation is therefore a top priority for the Portuguese presidency. We will spare no efforts during our term to support the process of preparation and approval of the national recovery and resilience plans, which are key to Europeʼs economic recovery and inclusive green and digital transitions.
João Leão, Portugalʼs Minister of State for Finance (photo: Portuguese government)
The Commission presented its communication on tackling non-performing loans (NPLs) in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ministers held a policy debate on the action plan.
Non-performing loans are bank loans that are more than 90 days past-due or are unlikely to be repaid in full without requiring the sale of collateral. The COVID-19 crisis is expected to lead to an increase in their ratios. In its new communication, which builds on the action plan agreed by the Council in 2017, the Commission proposes to address the issue through a series of actions and measures with four main goals:
During the debate, ministers agreed on the need to complete the implementation of measures outstanding from the 2017 action plan. The presidency highlighted its aim to progress quickly with the legislative proposals regarding secondary markets for NPLs and accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement, once the European Parliament was ready.
Work will continue to build a common view in other areas.
The Portuguese presidency presented its priorities for economic and financial affairs for the duration of its term, which runs from January to June 2021.
In the field of economic and financial affairs, the priorities will be pursued across three main areas:
Relaunching the economy in Europe, where the Presidency’s top priority will be the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. It will also play an active role in adapting the European Semester to the recovery and move forward with initiatives related to non-performing loans.
Addressing new challenges, including the green and digital transitions, where the focus will be on advancing with the Digital Finance Package, working on a Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy and continuing work on the tax challenges related to the digital economy. The Presidency will also start discussions on the introduction of new own resources and follow-up on the Customs Union action plan.
As part of the 2021 European Semester exercise, ministers exchanged views on the conclusions on the 2021 alert mechanism report and the draft recommendation on the economic policy of the euro area. The documents are due to be approved after the video conference, either at a physical Council meeting or by written procedure. Following its approval, the euro area recommendation will be transmitted to the European Council in March for endorsement.
Ministers took stock of the work on legislative proposals in the field of financial services. The Presidency highlighted the upcoming work on the proposals concerning secondary markets for non-performing loans, the European deposit insurance scheme, the motor insurance directive and the FinTech package.
The President of the European Investment Bank, Werner Hoyer, presented the main findings of the latest EIB Investment Survey.