The Cyprus Ministry of Finance published a readout of the informal Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting in Lefkosia, where European Union finance ministers focused on accelerating reforms to strengthen competitiveness, assessing stablecoins, and meeting higher spending and investment needs without undermining long-term fiscal sustainability. The discussions pointed to a shared push to turn the competitiveness agenda into concrete action while keeping fiscal discipline central to EU economic policy coordination. Ministers linked the urgency of the competitiveness agenda to geopolitical developments, including the recent conflict in the Middle East. On stablecoins, a forward-looking exchange informed by a Bruegel paper highlighted both risks and opportunities, stressed the need for better interoperability between platforms and Eurosystem services such as the European Central Bank-led Appia and Pontes initiatives, and showed support among several ministers for a cautious approach to any deeper integration of stablecoins into the EU monetary system. On investment needs, a strategic discussion based on an International Monetary Fund paper and interventions from the IMF and the European Court of Auditors underlined that national efforts should be accompanied by EU-level reforms to promote private investment while preserving fiscal sustainability. The stablecoin discussion can feed into future policy debates and the Eurogroup's work on digital finance.

Original source Back to tracker