Finance Minister Zdravko Marić will participate in the EU Council of Ministers meeting on economic and financial matters (ECOFIN) to be held on Tuesday, October 11, 2016, in Luxembourg, the Ministry of Finance reported on Monday.
The legislative part of the meeting will be preceded by a working breakfast during which the Commission, after a brief report from the Eurogroup meeting, will inform ministers about efforts to improve the predictability and transparency of the Stability and Growth Pact and its implementation in the case of Portugal and Spain, given that these countries have been granted additional time to correct their excessive deficits.
A discussion is also expected on the proposal for the establishment and strategic aspects of the European Fund for Sustainable Development.
In the legislative part of the meeting, progress on the drafting of the Directive in the context of combating fraud will be discussed, which aims to establish a legal framework at the EU level for the protection of financial interests, which would include the possibility of criminal prosecution for VAT-related fraud. In this regard, the meeting will seek to achieve a compromise solution for including VAT in the scope of the directive.
In the non-legislative part of the meeting, the Commission will present a report on the implementation of the banking union and the establishment of the so-called third pillar, related to the proposal for a Regulation on the European Deposit Insurance System, which aims to strengthen the banking union, support depositor protection, increase financial stability, and further reduce the interconnection between banks and states, it is stated in the announcement.
