Yuriko Backes, Minister of Finance, will participate on 14 and 15 March 2022 in the meeting of the Eurogroup and Council for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN), which will be held in Brussels.

The Eurogroup will begin with a discussion of the coordination of budget policies in the euro area for 2023. It is in this context that the nineteen ministers will discuss the impact of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine on the economic situation of the region. They will also discuss other key macroeconomic developments influencing fiscal planning for the coming years. The agenda for the meeting was also the settlement of the Banking Union.

At the ECOFIN Council, which will be held under the French presidency, twenty-seven finance ministers will examine the economic and financial consequences of the sanctions imposed on Russia. The ministers will then hold a policy debate on the proposal to convert into EU law the global agreement reached at the OECD level on setting global minimum taxation levels for multinational groups. The Commission will also consider the circumstances of the economic governance review following public consultations and discussions with Member States. Finally, the presidency will inform ministers of the main results of the informal summit of the Council of Europe, which will be held in Versailles on March 10 and 11, 2022.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the Minister of Finance will hold bilateral meetings with several of his partners. Mrs Backes will also speak at a conference hosted by Belgium and the ministries of the three Benelux countries on ways to further step up efforts to reduce VAT losses together with Van Peteghem, Belgian Minister of Finance, and Marnix van Rij, Dutch Secretary of State for Taxation.

Communicated by the Ministry of Finance