Tough week ahead in Brussels - Agenda

TalkToEU: John

In the next few days, our new government should be formed and a new cabinet announced. Taoiseach in waiting, Enda Kenny, will find himself sitting at a table with fellow EU leaders in just over a week, and our new Minister for Finance will attend his/her first meeting with his EU Finance ministers counterparts on 15 March.

These meetings are hugely important to Ireland as much of the discussion will focus on finance and economics – from EU bailouts, to financial reform and the potential for any future Euro economic coordination.

Before we look at the meetings themselves, a quick reminder of that EU/IMF bail-out deal. For a full guide click here.
As is stands, the deal lends Ireland €85 billion over the next three years. That’s €50 billion to cover public finance and €35 billion for our banks. That €85 billion is made up as follows:

• €22.5 billion from the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism;
• €22.5 billion from the European Financial Stability Facility – along with loans from the UK, Denmark and Sweden;
• €22.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF);
• €17.5 billion comes from an Irish Contribution from the National Pension Reserve Fund.

The overall rate that we are borrowing this money at is 5.8%.

We all know the pressure Ireland is under financially, and we’ve all heard arguments about whether the bail-out deal can or cannot be re-negotiated. But the pressure will not only be on Ireland during these upcoming meetings, as President Sarkozy is facing a difficult re-election campaign in France in 2012 and Chancellor Merkel will also have her mind on the Federal Elections in Germany in 2013. Everyone will want to be seen to get a good deal so expect some tough negotiations.
In that light, we thought it might be useful to take a quick look at what’s on the agenda for these important meetings:

Date
11 March

Meeting
European Council – Extraordinary Meeting

Who attends
All EU leaders

What will be discussed
This meeting of EU leaders is to discuss the situation in Libya and surrounding areas.
While they are there, the leaders of those countries that use the Euro will have an informal meeting to discuss national economic policies.

Date
14 March

Meeting
Eurogroup Meeting

Who attends
Eurogroup Meeting

What will be discussed
All 17 Eurozone members will come together again to discuss the stability of Eurozone countries.

Date
March 15

Meeting
ECOFIN Meeting

Who attends
All EU Finance Ministers

What will be discussed
This monthly meeting will be a chance for all 27 EU Finance Ministers to get together.
The focus will be on financial reform and economic governance with new legislation being proposed to strengthen the EU’s role in the economies of all EU countries.

Date
March 24/25

Meeting
European Council

Who attends
All EU leaders

What will be discussed
This is the crucial one. This meeting has been set as the deadline for a deal to be reached on the new European Stability Mechanism – which will be a stronger and permanent European “bail-out” fund.
All 27 EU leaders will discuss the economic reform package – expect some difficult negotiations to take place.

Interestingly, for Ireland, Olli Rehn, the Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, has said that any lower interest rate for Ireland will only come about as part of a wider EU economic reform. This highlights just how important this meeting will be for Ireland.