Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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9. To ask the Minister for Finance the discussion that took place recently between Finance Ministers in Athens; the decisions made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16183/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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European Finance Ministers met recently in Athens as part of the Greek Presidency.  The Eurogroup (a meeting of the Finance Ministers of the 18 Eurozone countries) met first on the morning of 1st April chaired by the President of the Eurogroup and Dutch Finance Minister, Mr Jeroen Dijsselbloem.  The second meeting was an Informal Ecofin meeting of the 28 members of the EU represented by Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors.  This meeting took place on the afternoon of the 1st of April and the following day, 2nd April.   Ireland was represented by Minister of State, Brian Hayes TD and Governor Patrick Honohan.

The President of the Eurogroup speaks on behalf of the Eurogroup and, as is normal, held a press conference after the meeting.  His remarks are available on the Eurozone press website.  In summary, the Eurogroup meeting discussed the situation in Greece and in Portugal and it was updated on the state of play in the Ukraine. In addition, the draft budgetary plan of Luxembourg and an update on Banking Union were also covered. The main decision taken at the meeting was on Greece.  The fourth review mission under the second macroeconomic adjustment programme for Greece has been concluded. This now allows for approval of the next agreed tranche of aid of EUR 8.3 billion which is to be released in three tranches in the coming months.  A statement by the Eurogroup on Greece was issued after the meeting.   

Regarding the Ecofin as the meeting was an informal gathering no decisions were taken. The primary purpose of an informal meeting is to allow Ministers to exchange views on a variety of topics and challenges affecting the EU.  A number of guests, for example Central Bank Governors and European institutions, are also invited to participate.  A statement, summarising the discussions, was released by the Greek Presidency post the meeting and is available on their website.

On the key question of Europe's social problems and the present economic situation a research and policy paper was presented by the Brussels based economic organisation, Bruegel, on the link between economic growth and poverty and unemployment.  This gave rise to a debate on how to ameliorate the plight of directly affected EU citizens such as the long term unemployed.

There was also a discussion on the economic outlook, growth prospects and financial stability in the EU.  The general consensus was that the economic situation was improving but difficult decisions still needed to be made if sustainable growth was to be achieved.

The meeting also discussed the key question of how to improve access to long term financing of the economy and a report by the High Level Experts Group on SME and Infrastructure Financing.  This High Level Group is co-chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Finance who made a joint presentation to the Informal Ecofin on this issue.  This is a very important initiative, given that the SME sector is part of the life blood of an economy, and indeed this matter had its genesis under our EU Presidency term.

The Ministers endorsed the key messages that the EU would take to the IMF/World Bank Spring meetings and the G20 Finance Ministers meeting on 10/11 April in Washington.  These cover a variety of areas from the economic outlook to financial regulation to specific IMF issues. 

Finally, the meeting had discussions and presentations on a number of banking related matters.  These ranged from various banking structural measures, arising from the Commission's recent proposals for a Regulation on possible reform options, as well as receiving an update on the implementation of the Single Supervisory Mechanism which is due to come into effect towards the end of 2014 and an update on the overall situation on Banking Union and the Single Resolution Mechanism. 

Overall, these were very productive meetings with key issues being discussed, with the informal nature of the proceedings allowing Ministers and Central Bank Governors to exchange views on critical issues.

In addition, a meeting also took place of the Joint Ecofin/ Facility Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership Ministerial Meetings co-chaired by the Ecofin President and the EIB President to discuss matters of growth and job creation, especially for young people, and a new EIB strategy for the Mediterranean region.