027139/EU XXVII.GP Eingelangt am 15/07/20 Eurogroup The President Brussels, 14 July 2020 ecfin.cef.cpe(2020)4210454 To the members of the Eurogroup Subject: videoconference of 9 July 2020 Dear colleagues, I would like to share with you the main content and course of our videoconference of 9 July, my last meeting as President of the Eurogroup. The Commission was represented by Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni. ECB President Christine Lagarde, ECB Executive Board Member Fabio Panetta and ESM Managing Director Klaus Regling also joined the videoconference. We welcomed Professor Niels Thygesen, President of the European Fiscal Board, for the item on the budgetary situation and fiscal stance of the euro area. 1. Presentation of the Commission's summer interim forecast The Commission presented its interim forecast, which confirms that the euro area entered a recession of unprecedented depth in the second quarter. Without the swift and determined policy responses we have implemented at the national and European levels, the situation would have been even worse. The policy response to the pandemic remains our prime focus. The forecast also confirms that the rebound has started, though the level of uncertainty and risk remains high. On an annual basis, the euro area economy is expected to shrink by almost 9% this year and, even if the rebound continues next year, as we hope, economic output will still be far below its previous trend. Moreover, we took good heed of the warnings from the Commission and the ECB that, even as activity rebounds, delayed impacts of the crisis on jobs and firms may l continue to materialise. Risks from outside the euro area are tilted to the downside, but there is an upside potential within our grasp, if we can swiftly agree on the recovery package, kick-starting investment and boosting Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175 - 1048 Bruxelles/Brussel - Belgique/België www.consilium.europa.eu 1/3 www.parlament.gv.at confidence. In this context, further discussion in the Eurogroup on the basis of the updated assessments of the economic impact of the recovery measures could be helpful. 2. Budgetary situation and fiscal stance in the euro area Ministers had a constructive exchange on fiscal policy challenges and the appropriate fiscal stance in the euro area, based on the detailed inputs of the European Fiscal Board and the Commission. The discussion made it clear to me that we have ended up with a fiscal policy consensus. The European Fiscal Board, the Commission, the ECB and Eurogroup Ministers all support timely and targeted policies to combat the pandemic and to protect the fabric of our economies and societies. This translates into a strongly supportive fiscal stance in the euro area overall, which complements the supportive monetary policies of the ECB. This is the focus for 2020. The policy challenges may start to change in the coming months and our policy responses may have to adapt. Nevertheless, as we gear up our budget preparations for next year, there is expectation that the economic fallout of the pandemic will still be there next year, and will have to be duly integrated into our decisions. Currently, while acknowledging the high level of uncertainty, there is broad consensus on supportive policies for next year as well. There was also some support for starting a discussion on the way forward in respect of the Stability and Growth Pact as soon as conditions allow it. This would encompass both the practical implementation of the Pact, particularly in terms of the formulation of fiscal guidance, and restarting the dialogue on the review of the economic governance framework. I concluded that the discussion on the way forward would naturally re-occur in the Eurogroup, at the latest in the context of the assessment of Draft Budgetary Plans at the end of the year. 3. Election of the President of the Eurogroup We elected Paschal Donohoe, Minister of Finance of Ireland, as the new Eurogroup President and we expressed our unanimous support for him. We thanked the other two contenders – Nadia Calviño and Pierre Gramegna - for their dedication and commitment to the work of the Eurogroup. The new President will take office on 13 July 2020 to serve a two and a half year term. The ESM Board of Governors is expected to appoint Paschal Donohoe as Chairperson of the Board of Governors, in his capacity as President of the Eurogroup. 4. Miscellaneous Under miscellaneous, we welcomed João Leão, the new Minister of State and Finance of Portugal. The Minister of the Economy, Finance and the Recovery of France, Bruno Le Maire, presented the economic and fiscal policy priorities of his country’s new government. Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175 - 1048 Bruxelles/Brussel - Belgique/België www.consilium.europa.eu 2/3 www.parlament.gv.at Yours sincerely, Mario Centeno Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175 - 1048 Bruxelles/Brussel - Belgique/België www.consilium.europa.eu 3/3 www.parlament.gv.at.