Informele bijeenkomst ECOFIN in Wroclaw (en)
http://pl2011.eu/en/online_transmision
ECOFIN i Council
The informal Economic and Financial Council forms part of a series of traditional meetings organised in the state presiding over the European Union Council at the time. The informal ECOFIN Council session in Wroclaw will be co-hosted by Jacek Rostowski, Minister of Finance, and Marek Belka, President of the National Bank of Poland.
Main Topics on the Agenda:
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-Current economic and financial situation worldwide,
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-Preparations for annual International Monetary Fund and World Bank sessions, and for the related G20 meetings,
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-Assessment of the European Union’s financial stability,
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-Reforming the European Union’s financial sector.
Finance ministers and central bank governors of European Union Member States will debate the current condition of the economy (in the European Union and globally), and the situation in sovereign bond markets. That part of the meeting will also be attended by guests invited by the Polish Presidency, including Timothy Geithner (American Secretary of the Treasury), David Lipton (First Deputy Managing Director at the International Monetary Fund), as well as representatives of European Union institutions: Sharon Bowles (Chair of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee at the European Parliament), Commissioners Michel Barnier i (co-ordinating internal market and service-related affairs) and Olli Rehn i (responsible for economic and currency issues), Jean Claude Trichet i (President of the European Central Bank), Philippe Maystadt (President of the European Investment Bank), Lorenzo Codogno (Chairman of the Economic Policy Committee), Vittorio Grilli (Chairman of the Economic and Financial Committee), and Klaus Regling (Head of the European Financial Stability Facility i).
Friday, September 16
At the outset, participants will debate the economic condition in the European Union and worldwide, the form and manner of preventing turbulence on financial markets, and the prospects of returning to the growth path. In the context of objectives and action plans adopted already, efforts to achieve stability in public funding, options for coupling (to the extent possible) such actions with funds aimed at restoring sustainable development will be discussed. Economic growth in the European Union shall be debated in the course of the upcoming European Union Council session in October, and the conclusions of the Wroclaw meeting may be a potentially valuable contribution.
Today, three eurozone Member States (Greece, Ireland, and Portugal) are taking advantage of financial assistance provided by the European Union and/or eurozone Member States, in conjunction with International Monetary Fund loans. Ministers will be able to comment on the implementation of adjustment programmes agreed with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund by these states, specifically by Greece, today a state that remains at the heart of financial markets’ attention. The condition of these countries influences not only the eurozone but other EU Member States as well. In light of the above, the Presidency wishes to emphasise the need for and the importance of action taken using the so-called community method, i.e. involving all EU Member States in designing crisis exit options and restoring economic growth.
During the Wroclaw meeting, finance ministers will also draft a common EU position for the annual International Monetary Fund and World Bank sessions, to take place on September 23-25, 2011 in Washington, and for the G20 meetings. The annual International Monetary Fund and World Bank sessions are among the most important for the financial world, and the usual practice is for the European Union to draft a joint position. This year, it will be based on documents adopted during the ECOFIN Council session, i.e.:
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-the address given by Minister Rostowski as Chair of the ECOFIN Council at the session of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, and
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-the joint position of the European Union with regard to G20 Terms of Reference.
The Washington debate will focus on the condition of the global economy, including the eurozone debt crisis. Furthermore, the G20 session agenda includes an assessment of the performance of commitments undertaken by G20 countries at the 2010 Seoul summit, and of work to reform the international monetary system and related financial regulations.
Saturday, September 17
The agenda of the second working session of the ECOFIN Council session (September 17) includes matters of financial stability in the European Union, and an assessment of the results of 2011 stress tests of extreme conditions in the banking sector. During that session, the European Commission will also table their information on the condition of financial sector reform, and legislative proposals in the field.
The debate on the European Union’s financial stability shall also be attended by representatives of European financial oversight authorities (European Banking Authority, European Securities and Markets Authority, and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority).
Finance ministers and central bank governors will be presented with analyses of institutions monitoring the stability of the European financial system, with special attention paid to an assessment of the current condition of the Union’s banking system and of other financial sectors related to it. The discussion will focus on issues relating to the downturn in global economic growth, the public debt crisis in the eurozone, and the impact of the European banks’ exposure to sovereign bonds and the related issue of banks experiencing difficulties with attracting market-based financing. The purpose of the debate shall be to offer a credible assessment of the current situation on financial markets with special attention paid to the banking sector, and to engage in a discussion concerning the possible forms of restoring confidence in European markets and of improving financial stability.
During the next part of the session, dedicated to an evaluation of results of the 2011 stress tests of extreme conditions in the banking sector, finance ministers and central bank governors will be exposed to a tentative assessment of the 2011 process of stress test preparation and implementation, as presented by the European Banking Authority - the institution responsible for holding stress tests (as described in a publication of July 15). Furthermore, debates will focus on performance assessment for backstop mechanisms, obligatory for banks who failed to record positive stress test results. The exchange of opinions will aim to summarise 2011 stress tests, and discuss proposals of potential changes to be introduced in future exercises of this kind.
The final element of the second working session shall involve a debate concerning progress in work to reform financial sector regulations. Sharon Bowles, Chair of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee at the European Parliament, shall attend this session as well. Michel Barnier, Commissioner for Internal Markets and Services, will speak on behalf of the European Commission to present current and future legislative initiatives, and the desired work timetable. A short discussion has also been planned to comment on chief regulatory priorities, including future legal framework reform for rating agency operations. This part of the discussion shall also be an opportunity for a Polish Presidency representative to present progress-related information in different legislative projects, as well as any action planned for the future.
The ECOFIN Council session shall be preceded with a Eurogroup convention with the seventeen eurozone Member States in attendance.
The ECOFIN session shall be accompanied by a financial services Financial Forum organised by the EUROFI think tank in Wroclaw on September 15-16 (www.eurofi.net).
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