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Commission’s officials acknowledge that productivity in the EU “has been slow for too long” and the euro “is threatening European competitiveness and hinders ability to invest”. Besides, debt levels remain high and in perspective “public spending faces growing pressures from defence issues to ageing population”. The member states agreed on urgent and coordinated policy action to improve competitiveness, productivity and innovation.
These citations are taken from the Commission’s economic policy’s guru V. Dombrovskis report, which has also noted recently that the EU “faced challenges in a context of heightened global tensions”, such as the military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as “high degree of uncertainty surrounding the policy priorities of the new US administration”.
Source and citations from: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_25_301
Eurozone
Although the discussions on economic policy priorities took place within the euro area, which unites twenty EU states with over 340 mln citizens (out of about 450 mln in the EU-27) the economic potentials can be equal to the whole Union.
Currently, the euro (€) is the official currency of 20 out of 27 EU member countries which together constitute the Eurozone, officially called the euro area launched in 2002. About 341 million people use it every day, making it the second most-used currency worldwide.
There are six EU member states where the euro has still not been adopted (Denmark has opted out), but which will join “the zone” once they have met the necessary conditions: Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden.
Thus, all EU states, except Denmark, are required to adopt the euro and join the euro area, once they are ready to fulfill the obligations.
More on “convergence criteria” in: https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/euro/enlargement-euro-area/convergence-criteria-joining_en
Coordinated economic policy
In order to improve competitiveness, productivity and innovation, the eurozone states agreed to take the following actions: a) improving access to funding for businesses; b) promoting innovation; c) improving business environment by reducing administrative burdens and regulatory complexity; d) removing obstacles to investment and supporting public and private investment in common priorities, such as the green and digital transformations and defence.
Besides, the eurozone-20 also agreed to strengthen economic resilience and uphold prudent fiscal policies as a key to achieving macro-financial stability; there was also broad consensus on the need to deepen the Banking Union and the CMU.
Present eurozone meeting also took stock of the European Central Bank and the Bank for International Settlements representatives who provided updates on their exploratory work on new technologies for wholesale settlement of transactions.
The Commission intends to render supportive measures in exploring and modernising the EU-wide wholesale payment systems to cater for the needs of the market while keeping in mind the need to maintain financial stability, safe and efficient payment systems, as well as the common goal of creating a Savings and Investment Union; the Eurogroup will return to these issues in the future.
Digital euro
As regards the digital euro, the Eurogroup needed to make fast progress with the legislative proposals as the EU needs to be at the forefront of embracing the digital age and making the most of all the opportunities that it offers.
The EU monetary system, with its common currency at its heart, must also adapt to a digitalised future; despite steady progress, further efforts are needed to reach a compromise.
Work on the digital euro also continues in the European Parliament; the Commission is committed to providing all the technical support needed to facilitate swift progress, concluded Commissioner.
More in remarks by Commissioner Dombrovskis at the Eurogroup in: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_25_301