Economic and Financial Committee (European Union)
The Economic and Financial Committee is a European Union advisory body, defined by the article 134 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Its president is also the president of the Eurogroup Working Group, which prepares dossiers for approval by the Eurogroup, whose decisions are generally ratified by ECOFIN.
History
Prior to the third stage of the Economic and Monetary Union which began on 1 January 1999, the Economic and Financial Committee was preceded by the Monetary Committee, which was established by article 105 of the Treaty of Rome in 1957.In May, as part of the European Semester 2016 Spring Package, the committee was tasked with making Article 126 reports on Belgium, Finland and Italy's government debt.
Agenda and composition of the EFC
The EFC is an advisory body, set up to promote coordination of member states' policies necessary for the functioning of the internal market. The EFC:- provides opinions at the request of the council or the European Commission, or on its own initiative
- provides the framework for the dialogue between the Council and the European Central Bank
- contributes to the preparation of the council's work, i.e.:
- *assesses the economic and financial situation in the member states and reports on it regularly to the Council and the Commission
- *provides input on coordination of economic and fiscal policies
- *provides contributions on financial market matters, exchange rate policies and relations with third countries and international institutions
The EFC also meets in a euro area configuration: the Eurogroup Working Group, in which only the euro area countries, the Commission and the European Central Bank are represented. In this configuration, the Committee prepares the work of the Eurogroup.
Previous personnel
Presidents
- Tuomas Saarenheimo
- Hans Vijlbrief
- Thomas Wieser
- Vittorio Grilli
- Thomas Wieser
- Xavier Musca
- Caio Koch-Weser
- Mario Draghi
- Jean Lemierre
Vice-Presidents
- Alessandro Rivera
- Odile Renaud-Basso
- Vincenzo La Via
- Vazil Hudak
- Inigo Fernandez De Mesa Vargas
- Georges Heinrich
- Vittorio Grilli
- Thomas Wieser
- Lorenzo Bini Smaghi
- Caio Koch-Weser