Minister McGrath in Brussels for first Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings of 2024

The Minister for Finance Michael McGrath is in Brussels today (Monday) to represent Ireland at the January ECOFIN and Eurogroup meetings.

Speaking ahead of the meeting Minister McGrath stated:

"This will be a busy two days of discussions with my Ministerial colleagues. I welcome the incoming Belgian Presidency and look forward to working with them over the coming months to advance the many work streams at ECOFIN that have a big impact on the day to day lives of EU citizens. Key issues on the agenda this month are the latest elements of the European Semester Package for 2024, the economic and financial impact of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the EU's priorities for the Brazilian presidency of the G20.

I will also take the opportunity to speak with my European colleagues about the strength of Ireland's bid to host the new EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority, AMLA. January will be an important month in the process to decide on the location for this new EU institution. Ireland has submitted a serious bid with significant support available for AMLA in Dublin.

Minister Carroll MacNeill will travel to Strasbourg today to meet with representatives from the European Parliament who will also be involved in the decision on where to locate AMLA."

Starting at the Eurogroup on Monday afternoon, Minister McGrath will join his euro area colleagues in discussing the IMF Article IV mission to the euro area and the 2024 Euro area recommendation. They will also discuss Euro area competitiveness including developments in energy prices in the euro area, the impact on the euro area economy and policy responses. Finally, there will be a discussion on the Eurogroup work programme for H1/2024.

ECOFIN begins on Tuesday morning with a formal working breakfast and the usual updates on the economic situation as well as a debrief from Eurogroup the previous day.

Following on from the breakfast, the Belgian Presidency will present its work programme for H1 2024. There will then be a discussion on the European Semester 2024, including conclusions on the Alert Mechanism Report 2024 and the Annual Sustainable Growth Survey 2024, as well as the 2024 Recommendation on the economic policy of the euro area.

The Ministers' attention will then turn to an exchange of views on the economic and financial impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This will be followed by a strategic discussion on the EU's priorities for the Brazilian G20 Presidency.

ENDS