The Ecofin ("Economy and Finance") Council brings
together the Member States' Ministers of Economy and Finance.
The themes dealt with by Ecofin can be divided into three major
groups:
1. economic and monetary union, economic co-ordination, financial
aid outside the Union, the financing of other European Union
initiatives;
2. financial services;
3. taxation.
In the preparation of its work, Ecofin uses a procedure different
in many respects from that of the other Councils, due to the
particular nature of the issues with which it deals. Article
114.2 of the Treaty provides that, apart from COREPER prerogatives,
the Council (Ecofin) may be held by the Economic and Finance
Committee (EFC) for a number of specific issues (movement of
capital, payments, economic and monetary policy). In addition,
Ecofin may entrust to the EFC any other consultative and preparatory
tasks that it considers appropriate. The EFC is made up of senior
staff from the Ministries of Economy and from the central banks
of the Member States, as well as of representatives from the
Central European Bank and the Commission. The Ministers' closest
advisers are thus involved, so that most of the technical questions
can be resolved before Ecofin discussions are held. For questions
relative to structural policies, a role similar to that of the
EFC is played by the Economic Policy Committee, which is also
made up of staff from the Ministries of Finance, the national
central banks, the ECB and the Commission. This model is applied
principally to the issues outlined in point 1 above. Some questions,
relative to financial action outside the Union (macrofinancial
aid and EIB loans) are usually examined by a working group of
the "Financial Advisors" Council. This group, in addition
to preparing the Ecofin agenda and meetings, deals with a number
of "horizontal" themes (such as the financing of trans-European
networks) and with the adjustment of the regulation on the economic
and monetary union.
Normal Council preparation procedure is used for other Ecofin
issues. For financial services, in particular, the relative
working group prepares the dossiers which are then sent by COREPER
for approval by the Ecofin Council. In this area, the procedure
is often complex, given that the European Parliament (co-decision
procedure) participates fully.
The Eurogroup is an informal group that brings together the
ministers of the States that have adopted the euro. Created
on the basis of the conclusions reached by the Luxembourg European
Council of December 1997, its purpose is to discuss informally
and confidentially the themes of interest to the euro area.
The Commission and the ECB are invited to participate. Given
that it is an informal group, there are no formal agendas or
minutes of the meetings. The Eurogroup has, in exceptional cases,
approved declarations on current issues. It is undoubtedly the
most important informal forum for dialogue and discussion on
the euro area's economic themes. It is also a major opportunity
for the exchange of opinions on economic and monetary policy
among Ministers of Finance, the ECB (often represented by its
Chairman) and the Commission.
The Seville European Council of June 2002 reduced the number
of Council members and incorporated the former Budget Council
into Ecofin. In the practice followed after Seville, however,
the "Ecofin-Budget Council" continues to meet at different
times than Ecofin and has a different preparation procedure.
