ECOFIN

Monday 19th March 2018 Written Statements

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss)]

A meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) was held in Brussels on 13 March 2018. The UK was represented by Mark Bowman (Director General, International Finance, HM Treasury). Council discussed the following:

Early morning session

The Eurogroup President briefed Ministers on the outcomes of the 12 March meeting of the Eurogroup, and the Commission provided an update on the current economic situation in the EU. Council also discussed progress on the banking package, aimed at reducing risk in the banking industry, agreeing to defer agreement on a general approach until a later date.

Mandatory disclosure rules

The Council reached political agreement on the Council directive regarding the mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation in relation to reportable cross-border arrangements.

Current financial services legislative proposals

The Bulgarian presidency provided an update on current legislative proposals in the field of financial services. The Commission presented a package of proposals relating to the EU’s Capital Markets Union.

European semester 2018

The Council exchanged views on the implementation of country-specific recommendations with a focus on productivity growth. Ireland and the Netherlands provided presentations on their experience of reforms to improve productivity growth. The Council also adopted the conclusions on the European Court of Auditors special report on the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP).

G20 Meeting

The Council approved the EU Terms of reference for the G20 meeting on 19-20 March in Buenos Aires.

Status of the implementation of Financial Services Legislation

The Commission informed the Council on the status of the implementation of financial services legislation.

[HCWS559]