Rådsmøde økonomi- og finansministre 5/11-02 Redegørelse

Der blev opnået enighed om organisationsændringer af EIB, og Rådet vedtog bilagte konklusioner med tilhørende erklæring.

På baggrund af frokostdrøftelse vedtog Rådet vedlagte konklusioner om forøgelse af ECB’s kapital og valutareserver i lyset af udvidelsen.

Et medlemsland gjorde i lyset af en kommende donorkonference opmærksom på den økonomiske og finansielle situation i Libanon, herunder muligheden for fremtidig makrofinansiel assistance fra EU.

Punkterne vedrørende bl.a. opfølgning på Verdenstopmødet om bæredygtig udvikling, affaldsstatistik, FATF-anbefaling om modforanstaltninger mod Nigeria og Ukraine, fradragsret på moms, revision af artikel 9 i 6. momsdirektiv samt arbejdsmarkedsorienterede pensionskasser blev vedtaget uden drøftelse. (Rådskonklusioner vedrørende opfølgning på Verdenstopmødet og FATF bilægges.)

Rådets henstilling til Portugal

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 104(7) thereof;

Having regard to the recommendation from the Commission under Article 104(7) and Article 104(13)

Whereas in stage three of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), Member States are according to Article 104 of the Treaty shall avoid excessive government deficits;

Whereas the Stability and Growth Pact is based on the objective of sound government finances as a means of strengthening the conditions for price stability and for strong sustainable growth conducive to employment creation;

Whereas the Amsterdam Resolution of the European Council on the Stability and Growth Pact of 17 June 1997 solemnly invites all parties, namely the Member States, the Council and the Commission to implement the Treaty and the Stability and Growth pact in a strict and

timely manner;

Whereas the Council has decided, in accordance with Article 104 (6), that an excessive deficit exists in Portugal;

Whereas having decided on the existence of an excessive deficit in Portugal, the Council, in accordance with Article 104(7) of the Treaty and Article 3(4) of Regulation EC 1467/97, shall adopt a Recommendation establishing a deadline of four months at the most for effective action to be taken by Portugal to correct the excessive deficit position; whereas the Council takes note of the budgetary measures taken in May 2002 which aim at reducing the deficit level to 2.8% of GDP in 2002, as we ll as those planned for 2003; whereas the Council welcomes the measures announced by the Portuguese authorities, but shall establish a deadline of 31 December 2002 for the Portuguese government to take measures to bring the existence of an excessive deficit to an end.

Whereas Article 3(4) of Regulation EC 1467/97 requires that the Recommendation adopted by the Council in accordance with Article 104(7) also establishes a deadline for the correction of the excessive deficit, which should be completed in the year following its identification;

Whereas the notification of September 2002 based on the work of the ad-hoc commission has been validated by Eurostat; whereas in the report of the Commission, attention was drawn to the serious deficiencies in the reporting of budgetary data; whereas the Commission and the Council take note of efforts by the Portuguese authorities to improve the reliability and timeliness of the reporting of budgetary data; whereas there is a need to take steps to improve the reliability and timeliness of budgetary data used in the multilateral surveillance process;

Whereas, in accordance with Article 104(12) of the Treaty, a Council decision under Article 104(6) on the existence of an excessive deficit will only be abrogated if the excessive deficit, in the view of the Council, has been corrected; whereas the Council will take into account compliance with the recommendation made under Article 104(7) when taking decisions in accordance with Article 104(12);

HEREBY RECOMMENDS:

the Portuguese government to put an end to the present excessive deficit situation as rapidly as possible in accordance with Article 3(4) of the Regulation EC 1467/97;

the Portuguese authorities to implement with resolve their budgetary plans for 2002, which aim at reducing the deficit in 2002 to 2.8% of GDP. The Council establishes a deadline of 31 December 2002 for the Portuguese government to take all necessary measures to bring the

excessive deficit to an end;

the Portuguese government to adopt and implement the necessary budgetary measures to ensure that the government deficit in 2003 is further reduced clearly below 3% of GDP and that the government debt ratio is kept below the 60% of GDP reference value.

In addition to the recommendations under Article 104.7, the Council welcomes the commitment by the Portuguese authorities:

to present before the end of the year an updated stability programme covering the period 2003-2006 and including adjustment measures for the achievement of the medium term budgetary position of close to balance or in surplus, taking into account their political commitment to reduce the underlying deficit by more than 0.5% of GDP per year; and to secure that the debt ratio is brought back to a declining path;

to continue to improve the collection and processing of general government data to correct the serious deficiencies revealed in this regard in Portugal;

to reinforce the co-ordination mechanisms of budgetary policy and to secure the process of budgetary consolidation. In this regard, the Council notes with satisfaction the recent approval of a budgetary stability law aimed at strengthening budgetary co-ordination and fiscal discipline among the constituent sectors of general government, thereby assisting in the management of fiscal policy. Furthermore, the Council welcomes the efforts that are being made by the Portuguese governmen t to reduce the government deficit on a permanent basis as

well as to implement policies to foster growth, employment and competitiveness. The Council encourages the Portuguese government to implement these policies with determination;

This recommendation is addressed to the Republic of Portugal.

Done at Brussels, […]

Fælles konklusioner fra EU og kandidatlandene

The Ministers of the EU Member States and the candidate countries concluded that:

1. the second PEPs in general demonstrate further progress in capacity building towards participation in the EU’s multilateral surveillance and economic policy co-ordination. Overall, they reflect the main economic policy challenges that lie ahead for these countries on their road to accession and which need to be addressed together.
1. achieving a high and sustainable level of real growth is important in order to ensure a rapid economic convergence with the EU. Closing the real income gap over the longer term will require substantial further progress with respect to the outstanding structural reform agenda, backed by forceful implementation. Efforts to create a more favourable environment for investment and entrepreneurship and to simplify and improve the regulatory environment should be vigorously pu rsued.
1. continued vigilance against potential external risks is paramount given the accession countries’ high openness, import dependence and export sensitivity to EU and international growth. Institutions for financial regulation, supervision and risk management need to be further strengthened as highlighted in the updated Commission report on macroeconomic and financial stability.
1. sound and credible fiscal policy is crucial not only for coping with difficult economic policy choices but also for enhancing confidence in the stability of the macroeconomic policy framework. The weak fiscal positions of several accession countries argue strongly for taking decisive steps towards sustainable fiscal consolidation in line with the EU’s fiscal surveillance procedures, inter alia so as to create room for private investment. Effective public expenditu agement and efficient tax collection should be central elements of any consolidation programme. Long-term challenges due to ageing populations have also to be factored in.

The Ministers underline their commitment towards continuing, with the support of the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), the Economic Policy Committee (EPC) and the Commission, the surveillance of progress with economic, budgetary and structural policies in the accession countries, including for those countries which will not be in the first wave of EU accession, within the existing economic and fiscal policy co-ordination processes. This should help the accession countries to define strategies for progressive economic integration. In the 2003 PEPs, recommendations need to be followed through as a matter of high priority so to contribute to growth and employment in an enlarged EU.

The EFC, the EPC and the Commission are invited to propose to the high-level meeting in spring 2003, taking into account the results of the current efforts to streamline the processes, on how the accession countries could be integrated as early as possible in the Community’ s economic policy co-ordination and fiscal surveillance procedures. The Commission is also invited to present, for approval by this meeting, an action plan on the most urgent statistical requirements and a report ficit and debt reporting.

The Ministers of the candidate countries agree to putting forward in the 2003 updates of their PEPs' adjustment paths based on realistic assumptions regarding the economic outlook and detailed underlying reform measures. Ministers will meet again in the second half of 2003 to continue their dialogue. The dialogue at the level of the Economic and Financial Committee and their counterparts will continue in May 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rådskonklusioner med erklæring vedrørende EIB

The Council agreed on the following elements for amendment of the EIB’s statute in the context of enlargement:

1. Decisions of the Board of Directors shall be taken by at least a third of members entitled to vote. This majority must represent at least 50% of the subscribed capital.
1. Spain’s capital share is selectively increased to a level of 60% of voting power of larger countries, implying an increase of its share in EU-15 terms to 10.24% and of 1.03 bn euros in cash contribution to the Bank. This increase shall be seen as setting no precedent for other Member States, or further enlargements, and shall have no bearing on any other arrangements related to governance
1. In order to maintain in the Board a wide range of professional expertise, 3 non-voting experts shall be co-opted to the Board, increasing the number of Directors from 26 to 29. In addition, 3 non-voting experts should be co-opted to the Board as Alternates, increasing the number of Alternates to 19. At the same time, so as to keep a large Board workable, its working methods should be adjusted regarding speaking rights of Alternates.
1. Increase the Management Committee by one to nine members (including the next enlargement).

Furthermore, the Council agreed that the Board of Governors, immediately after entry into force of the accession treaties, should review the composition of the nine constituencies in the Management Committee. The Board of Governors should prepare this review in due time. Unless and until the Board of Governors decides otherwise by unanimity, the one additional member shall be allocated to a constituency of the 10 new Member States.

The Council also decided to enter the following statement in its minutes:

"The Council takes note that the composition of the nine constituencies of the Management Committee of the EIB should be reviewed with the aim of finding a better balance between the nine constituencies.

With reference to the country groupings in Article 11(2) of the EIB Statute (Alternate members of the Board of Directors), with a view to coming to a more balanced composition of constituencies, the Council recalls the enabling clause of the Nice Treaty for amending the EIB Statutes."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rådskonklusioner vedrørende ECB

"The Council agrees that the ECB’s subscribed capital and the ceiling on the ECB’s foreign exchange reserves shall be increased in the context of enlargement. Accordingly, a new Article 49.3 should be introduced into Treaty Protocol (No 18) (ex No 3) on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank:

"Upon one or more countries becoming Member States and their respective national central banks becoming part of the ESCB, the subscribed capital of the ECB and the limit on the amount of foreign reserve assets that may be transferred to the ECB shall be automatically increased. The increase shall be determined by multiplying the respective amounts then prevailing by the ratio, within the expanded capital key, between the weighting of the entering national central banks concerned and the w eighting of the national central banks already members of the ESCB. Each national central bank’s weighting in the capital key shall be calculated by analogy with Article 29.1 and in compliance with Article 29.2. The reference periods to be used for the statistical data shall be identical to those applied for the latest quinquennial adjustment of the weightings under Article 29.3.""

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rådskonklusioner vedrørende opfølgning på Verdenstopmødet om bæredygtig udvikling

"Elements, goals and targets in the WSSD Plan of Implementation concerning economic and financial issues and follow-up by the Council (ECOFIN)

The following areas in the Plan of Implementation are of particular relevance to the ECOFIN Council:

1. Sustainable development in a globalizing world (Chapter V)
1. Means of implementation, including financing and debt relief (Chapter IX)
1. Institutional Framework for sustainable development (Chapter X)

In addition to these areas, the ECOFIN Council has an interest in following the topic:

1. Changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production (Chapter III)