Eurogroup wants support measures to address the energy crisis to be limited to the most vulnerable

“We calculated that About 70 percent of the measures taken by member states to date are non-specificThis means that they benefit not only the most vulnerable, but everyone or a very large part of the population”, European Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni detailed at a press conference after the Eurogroup meeting.

However, he admitted he was “aware that targeting is not always easy, neither politically nor technically”, and acknowledged that the data “represents progress compared to a few months ago when about 80 percent of the measures were absent.”

This position comes weeks later, although no definitive experience is cited.plan announced by Germany to allocate 200,000 million euros to reduce the final consumer’s energy bill, which aroused the suspicion of several partners.

“Economic sentiment has worsened since the summer, and while survey data point to a contraction in economic activity this winter, “the main bright spot remains the labor market situation,” Gentiloni said.

Regarding the economic forecasts that the European Commission will elaborate on Friday, “Many indicators suggest that the economy is likely to contract,” Gentiloni said. and encouraged “work to prevent the contraction in the winter months from turning into a prolonged period of recession”.

To achieve this, he argued: work together to improve results on this frontEspecially since energy prices are expected to stay higher for a while. All this, especially at a time when inflation in the euro area has risen to 10.7 percent, driven by high energy prices.

Coordination and new president

In this sense, Paschal Donohoe, head of the Eurogroup and Irish minister, emphasized the resilience of the banking sector as a positive point and called for coordination to promote the energy transition: “Although it is not immune, it is an advantage for our economies,” he said.

Rolf Strauch, head of the European Stability Mechanism, stressed that the common position of the Member States is “clearness” in fiscal rules as well as being “realistic and affordable”.

The message launched by Gentiloni and Donohoe calling for the unity and coordination of Member States, energy crisis and High inflation was also shared by some finance ministers of Ondokuz.

For this reason, Belgian Finance Minister Vincent van Peteghem wanted one to be able to “predict what will happen” in these challenging times and wanted a “good compass” for that. “It’s important that we show unity, that we act in a coordinated way,” he added, while asking to focus on what he calls the “holy trinity”, referring to the sum total of debt reduction, investment and structural reforms.

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire made similar statements, calling for “excellent coordination between monetary and fiscal policy” and urging his counterparts to remain “open, unified and strong from the start”. “This is not a time to lecture any Member State, but to have strong coordination between Member States.”

Finally, the ministers made an open call for candidates to take over from Donohoe, the head of the Eurogroup, when his two-and-a-half-year term ends next January, despite the Irish expressing their willingness to renew the position. has the support of other partners. Elections will be held on December 5 at the next meeting of the Nineteen and Ministers wishing to apply for the position must declare their intention before 24 November..