Speaking at the Eurogroup meeting held on 9 November in Brussels, Minister for Finance Edward Scicluna emphasised that “while Malta agrees with the moves to strengthen the Euro area through enhanced cooperation, the Commission’s proposals to this end could lead to a one-size-fits-all approach which is not within the spirit we have worked so far in the Eurogroup.”

 

 

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY FOR FINANCE

 

Euro area Finance Ministers had an exchange of views on a specific number of initiatives included within a group of Commission proposals on Economic Governance, as a follow-up to the Five Presidents’ Report on ‘Completing the EMU’. These include the introduction of national Competitiveness Boards; the set up of a European Fiscal Board (EFB), and a proposal for more unified representation of the euro area in international financial institutions, especially the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

 

 

At the Eurogroup meeting ministers also discussed the economic and fiscal situation, based on a presentation by the Commission of its 2015 autumn forecast. They also held an exchange of views on recent inflation and exchange rate developments, the state of play in Greece, the ongoing preparatory work on the implementation of the Banking Union and the developments regarding European representation and the Euro area constituency, in particular in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

For the meetings, the Minister for Finance was accompanied by the Finance Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Mr Alfred Camilleri.

 

– Tuesday, 10th November, 2015