Good afternoon. The euro area finance ministers had 3 meetings today. We started with the regular Eurogroup, then the ESM Board of Governors, and finally we had a discussion on banking union, including non-euro area members.
In the Eurogroup we covered Greece, Ireland, the reform of the ESM and the appointment of the ECB Vice President. Let me start with the last point.
The Eurogroup agreed to endorse Luis de Guindos for the upcoming ECB Vice-President vacancy. We had a brief exchange of views in the Eurogroup, and I am glad to report that it was a unanimous decision. I would like to congratulate Luis. Let me as well highlight the skills and expertise of both candidates and thank them for the interest and commitment they have shown. Tomorrow the ECOFIN is expected to formally adopt a Recommendation to the European Council. The final decision by our Leaders will be taken at the March Summit, after consulting the ECB and the European Parliament. So we are well on track for Luis to take up his position at the ECB on the 1st of June.
On Greece, excellent news. The institutions reported that Greece has acted on all prior actions. It has been a tremendous effort by the Greek government, who is showing strong ownership of the programme. Of all 110 prior actions, only 2 are still outstanding, which are outside the control of the government. I’m confident that they can be cleared soon by the institutions. The ball is also on our side now. National procedures will be needed to approve the disbursement of €5.7 billion once the institutions validate the completion of the pending prior actions. Klaus will tell you more about this.
The Eurogroup will now turn to the next stages of the ESM programme and ensure that the reform agenda will outlive the programme period. As I promised in the last Eurogroup, the technical work on debt relief measures has already started.
We then discussed Ireland post-programme surveillance. We congratulated the Irish authorities for the strong economic performance of the country. In December, Ireland repaid early - and in full - its outstanding loans from the IMF, Denmark and Sweden. That was another sign of the impressive recovery of the country. We encouraged Ireland to stay on this path so that it is able to weather any downside risks.
Finally, we had a rich discussion on how to reinforce the ESM. Our starting point was that the ESM has proved successful in fulfilling its mandate by providing financial assistance to Member States in need and acting as a firewall for euro area sovereigns. Going forward, we agreed that the role of the ESM should be further developed. As regards possible new tasks for the ESM, becoming the backstop for the Single Resolution Fund received strong support. This is a critical element to make banking union more credible and more resilient. Enhancing the ESM role in crisis management also came out as a priority. This concerns its role in programme design and monitoring, as well as reviewing its toolkit. At the same time, new tasks cannot overlap with the role of the Commission. The division of labour between the institutions must be very clear.
So, as you can see, the Eurogroup is very much aligned on the future of the ESM. We mandated our deputies to continue working on this plan and we will come back to it in our next meetings.
Now, let me debrief you on our discussion on how to take stock and further develop the 2016 Banking Union Roadmap. In this discussion we included non-euro area EU finance ministers, plus Daniele Nouy of the Single Supervisory Mechanism and Elke Koenig of the Single Resolution Board. In line with what was decided by our Leaders in December, work is ongoing to move forward with the implementation of the June 2016 Roadmap. The aim is to add more precision to the steps that need to be taken in terms of risk reduction and risk sharing.
Just to be clear: This is not about adding new measures. It is about providing clarity on timing and content of the different elements of the June 2016 roadmap. We have been doing a lot in terms of risk reduction since the beginning of the crisis. The results are clear and they are supporting growth. Looking forward, we must consider advancing the discussion and implementation of risk-sharing measures. Taken together, they will contribute to reinforce confidence and resilience of the euro area.
Main results
The Eurogroup meeting took place in two formats - the first part was a regular meeting of the euro area ministers, while the second part was a meeting of the ministers of 27 EU member states.
Eurogroup meeting in regular format
Greece: economic adjustment programme
The Eurogroup was informed of the further progress achieved by Greece in implementing the remaining prior actions under the third review of the programme. Their fulfilment is a precondition for the disbursement of the next tranche of financial assistance available under the programme from the European Stability Mechanism.
Ireland: post-programme surveillance
The Eurogroup was informed of the key findings of the 8th post-programme surveillance mission to Ireland, which took place from 28 November to 1 December 2017.
European Stability Mechanism reform
Ministers exchanged views on how to bring forward the debate on the reform of the European Stability Mechanism. The discussion will feed into the preparation of the decisions that the EU leaders might take in the context of the wider discussion on the deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union.
Appointment of the Vice-President of the European Central Bank
The Eurogroup discussed the appointment of the Vice President of the European Central Bank and has given its political support to the candidacy of Luis de Guindos.
The Vice President of the ECB will be appointed by the European Council on a recommendation from the Council of the EU.
Eurogroup meeting in inclusive format
Banking union: the way forward
The finance ministers of 27 EU member states discussed the progress achieved in implementing the June 2016 roadmap to complete the banking union and looked into its further development.
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