14 November 2013

Lithuanian Presidency: Agreement on Single Resolution Mechanism needed

“While there are quite a few issues still to be agreed, the Lithuanian Presidency will put all its efforts to find connecting lines to achieve a solid common approach on the Single Resolution Mechanism. We cannot afford to delay the development of the Banking Union, which is very important for the financial stability of Europe", said Rimantas Šadžius, Lithuanian Finance Minister and Chair of the ECOFIN Council.

The ECOFIN Ministers are expected to discuss all key elements of SRM, including the scope and financing arrangements, decision making and voting mechanisms as well as other related questions. The SRM will be one of the elements of Banking Union, which also encompasses  recently adopted Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). The SRM would cover all countries participating in the SSM, namely the euro area Member States and those non-euro area countries that decide to join the mechanism.

In the field of taxation, the ECOFIN Council will address the draft directive aimed at enlarging the scope of savings income taxation and exchange of information among taxation authorities. The European Commission will present a proposal for a directive introducing standard VAT return with the aim of simplifying the VAT return information and thus reducing burdens on businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises. Progress on the draft directive on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing will also be discussed.

During the informal discussion before the Council meeting the ministers will discuss backstop arrangements in preparation for the asset quality reviews and stress tests of the EU banks, in particular in the context of the comprehensive assessment by the European Central Bank (ECB). Among other items on the agenda are international accounting standards and Council conclusions on the EU statistics.

Representatives of the ECOFIN Council and European Parliament will have an informal dialogue on November 14 to discuss the Banking Union and other financial services questions. The same day the Macro-economic dialogue at political level will also take place where the representatives of the Council, the European Commission and the ECB will exchange views on the economic situation and labour market developments in the EU with social partners.

Press release

© Lithuanian Presidency