European finance ministers and governors will hold talks in Prague on Friday and Saturday
Update: 09/08/2022 15:22
Issued by: 08/09/2022, 15:22
Prague – European finance ministers and central bank governors will hold an informal meeting in Prague on Friday and Saturday as part of the Czech presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU). Current topics should focus on further financial aid for Ukraine and high energy prices. They should also discuss the setting of fiscal rules and the future of direct taxation in the EU. The meeting will take place on both days in the Congress Center Prague.
The Director of the European Department of the Ministry of Finance, Zbyněk Smetana, pointed out at a meeting with journalists today that during informal meetings, ministers do not make any binding decisions, since then there are regular monthly meetings. However, if there is agreement on a certain topic, it is possible, for example, to speed up the adoption of a specific measure, he said.
During the current Czech presidency, Smetana pointed out the fact that the Czech Republic has the opportunity to choose the topics of the meeting in relation to the informal meeting. In the case of Ukraine, representatives of the Ministry of Finance expect that it should bring assurances about the political will to continue helping the war-affected country, said Jiří Georgiev, deputy director of the international relations section.
On Wednesday, the European Commission published a proposal for an additional loan to Ukraine of five billion euros (about 123 billion CZK) to alleviate the difficulties arising from the ongoing defense against Russian aggression. The support was approved by the member states and the European Parliament. Previously, the EU promised to provide Ukraine with a long-term loan of nine billion euros (about 221 billion CZK) as part of immediate aid, and sent 2.2 billion euros (about 54 billion CZK) to Kyiv.
According to Georgiev, as part of the energy discussion, finance ministers and country governors should clarify which measures will be taken at the European level and which at the national level. At the same time, an extraordinary meeting of EU energy ministers is being held in Brussels on Friday, which aims to find a solution to the current energy crisis. Georgiev said that the informal meeting of finance ministers must not overshadow the negotiations in Brussels on this matter.
The European Commission proposes to introduce a price ceiling on gas imported from Russia. In addition, the EU executive is counting on the use of unexpected profits of energy companies to help vulnerable consumers or on the mandatory limitation of electricity consumption during the busiest hours.