Economic and Financial Affairs Council, 5 October 2021 - Main contents
Main results
Economic recovery
Economy and finance ministers discussed the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and adopted a Council implementing decision approving the national recovery and resilience plan for Malta. With 54% of the plan’s total allocation dedicated to climate objectives and 26% to measures supporting digitalisation, it puts a strong focus on the green and digital transition.
Ministers exchanged views on the state of play regarding SURE, a European instrument for providing temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency, which was launched as part of the EU’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, the EU has provided almost €90 billion of support to 19 member states to help them protect workers’ jobs and income. SURE is estimated to have supported approximately 31 million people and 2½ million firms in 2020.
The European economic recovery is going strong. We reacted to the challenges the pandemic posed to our economy in a timely and decisive manner. We now have 19 recovery and resilience plans approved and almost all of these member states have received their requested pre-financing. Another EU instrument, SURE, has proven to be widely successful in protecting our citizens’ jobs and livelihoods during the pandemic. We have to keep this momentum and ensure the recovery remains strong.
Andrej Šircelj, Slovenia’s Minister for Finance
Ministers also exchanged views on the lessons learned from the European Semester 2021 and on a possible way forward in the context of the national recovery plans. The discussion focused on the possibilities of alignment of the implementation of the RRF with the next cycle of the European Semester.
Preparations for international meetings
Economy and financial affairs ministers continued the preparations for the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors scheduled for 13-14 October 2021, and for the IMF annual meeting. In this context, they approved the G20 EU terms of reference and the statement to the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC).
Ministers also approved conclusions on climate finance ahead of the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow. The conclusions emphasise the continued strong support from the EU and its member states for the implementation of the goals of the Paris Agreement. They also highlight their commitment to scale up their contribution to international climate finance as well as the need to enhance the mobilisation of private finance in these efforts.
Financial services legislation
Economy and financial affairs ministers were invited to express their views on the revision of prudential rules for insurance and reinsurance companies, within the Solvency II framework. The debate was preceded by the Commission’s presentation of their new proposals for the Solvency II review.
Under any other business, the Slovenian presidency provided an update on current legislative proposals on financial services and the Commission updated ministers on the implementation of financial services legislation.
Meeting information
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-Meeting n°3814
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-Luxembourg
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-5 October 2021
Preparatory documents
Outcome documents