Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

132. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will report on his recent meeting with the Eurogroup. [55583/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

On Monday 7th November, I chaired the most recent meeting of the Eurogroup. The agreed summing up letter of the meeting will be published in due course on the Eurogroup website.

In advance of its publication, I can inform the Deputy that the Eurogroup meeting discussed the macro-economic situation in the euro area, and Ministers reiterated our previously expressed view that our economy is weakening. However, we noted the resilience of the euro area, which has been enhanced through the actions taken by Governments over recent years. Despite the unprecedented magnitude of the shocks that are hitting the euro area, the economy expanded strongly in the first half of the year and the outturn in the third quarter has been more robust than expected. Euro area unemployment is at record low levels, which has assisted many households to weather the worst impacts of higher inflation to date. The Eurogroup noted that the Commission will publish its latest economic forecast at the end of this week.

The Eurogroup then discussed fiscal policies and agreed the need for coordination and careful targeting to control inflation. We noted the Commission’s estimate of the impact of national fiscal measures to keep our citizens warm over winter, with euro area Governments having so far collectively spent about 1.25% of EU GDP on energy support for the year (approximately €200 billion). Eurogroup Ministers noted the need to balance the trade-off reducing inflation and also supporting vulnerable households and the euro area's international competitiveness.

The Eurogroup reviewed the outcome of the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Annual Meetings and reflected on the key themes that arose in these meetings. We also heard from Andrea Enria (the Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB) and Elke König (the Chair of the Single Resolution Board), who updated us on how the banking system is in a relatively strong position and that its resilience has become an asset for our economies. Nevertheless, they clearly set out that there are some important challenges ahead, with the wider picture of inflation, economic disruption and geopolitical turmoil likely to impact on our banks and the financial sector more broadly.

Finally, we agreed the timeline for the election process for the next President of Eurogroup. I informed the Eurogroup that I have received support to put my name forward for a second term.

We will return to budgetary matters next month when we discuss euro area budgetary plans for 2023. This discussion will be an opportunity to further enhance the coordination of our policies to achieve the objectives of fiscal sustainability, the proper targeting of our supports, and incentivising the energy transition.