The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Sajid Javid)
A meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council was held in Brussels on 18 February. The following items were discussed.
Annual Growth Survey 2014: Guidance on the implementation of priorities agreed at the December European Council on macroeconomic and fiscal matters
ECOFIN adopted Council conclusions on the annual growth survey. The Government support the Commission’s focus on fiscal consolidation, promoting economic growth and employment, and broadly agree with the Commission’s overall priorities. However, the Government consider that the European semester should focus on the core priorities of growth and jobs, and that these conclusions should not provide a mandate for a justice scoreboard.
Alert Mechanism Report 2014
ECOFIN adopted Council conclusions on the alert mechanism report (AMR) which marks the start of the macro-economic imbalance procedure cycle.
Preparation of G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Governors (Sydney, Australia, 22-23 February 2014)
The Council endorsed the EU terms of reference for the G20 Finance Ministers and Governors meeting in Sydney.
Discharge procedure in respect of the implementation of the budget for 2012
The Council, on the basis of a report from the Court of Auditors, approved the recommendation on the discharge to be given to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2012. The UK, along with the Netherlands and Sweden, voted against the discharge of the EU budget and submitted a joint statement expressing disappointment that the Court of Auditors had been unable to give an unqualified statement of assurance for the 19th consecutive year and that the overall error rate had increased.
Budget guidelines for 2015
The Council adopted conclusions on the budget guidelines for 2015, which will be its overall reference for the budget year.
Implementation of the Single Supervisory Mechanism
The European Central Bank presented its first quarterly report on progress in the implementation of the single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The establishment of the SSM will help to safeguard euro area financial stability and is critical to restoring market confidence over the medium term.
Current legislative proposals
The presidency provided information on the ongoing work on financial services dossiers.
Single Resolution Mechanism
The presidency updated the Council on the trilogue process with the European Parliament. The UK welcomed the progress made on this file since the general approach was reached at ECOFIN in December 2013, and will be ensuring that it fully respects the unity and integrity of the single market.