Luxembourg's Minister of Finances, Pierre Gramegna, represented the European Union at the G20 meeting held in Ankara on 4 and 5 September 2015

Pierre Gramegna attended the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors held in Ankara on 4 and 5 September 2015. He represented the European Union alongside Pierre Moscovici i, European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, and Mario Draghi i, President of the ECB. It is the first time that a Luxembourg Finance Minister has attended a G20 i meeting.

Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, 4-5 September in Ankara, Family photo

Anadolu Agency

Ministers addressed the global economic situation and prospects for growth against a volatile macroeconomic background. During the discussions, Pierre Gramegna stressed that "productive and effective investment in public and private infrastructure are the main drivers of economic growth." The Minister presented the EU's initiative to set up a European Fund for Strategic Investments provided for under the EU's Juncker Investment Plan which starts now, observing that it represents a major initiative designed to revitalise the European economy, which has not yet returned to pre-2008 crisis levels of investment. He assured his colleagues that Luxembourg, "through its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, will ensure the effective implementation of this plan together with the European Commission and the EIB." In that regard, the Minister also highlighted "the initiatives that will be taken by the Luxembourg Presidency to promote SME access to financial markets."

The G20 meeting also took note of progress in the negotiations relating to the OECD's BEPS Project, expected to be finalised for the meeting of the IMF and the World Bank to be held in Lima in October 2015. Pierre Gramegna states: "These new rules will guarantee fairer and more modern taxation. It is a successful measure which will change global taxation."

Among other topics, the Ministers also addressed the problems related to the financing of terrorism, climate financing in view of the COP21 Conference and the special situation of developing countries.

Bilateral meetings were also held between Pierre Gramegna and the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Cevdet Ylmaz, and the Minister for Finance, Mehmet Şimşek. In particular, they discussed the situation of refugees from Syria and Iraq, as well as bilateral relations between their two countries.

Press release issued by the Ministry of Finance