Latvia's Ministry of Finance announced that Finance Minister Arvils Ašeradens and ministry officials will take part in the Eurogroup and the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meetings in Brussels on 10-11 March, with discussions centred on macroeconomic developments, competitiveness, regulatory simplification and improvements to Europe’s business environment. The Eurogroup agenda includes the euro area economic outlook and fiscal policy coordination, with the extended format set to examine cryptoasset activity and market developments and their impact on the euro area and the wider European economy, alongside preparation for the March Euro Summit and a review of the February G7 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors. ECOFIN is due to hold a policy debate on competitiveness and simplification, including initial views on a legislative package to reduce sustainable finance regulatory burdens, with proposals to limit sustainability reporting to companies with 1,000 or more employees, remove sustainability disclosure burdens for smaller firms in large companies’ supply chains, and review the EU sustainable finance taxonomy criteria. Ministers will also discuss the economic and financial impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine, including sanctions implementation with a focus on customs enforcement and preventing circumvention. ECOFIN is expected to seek a general approach enabling adoption of a directive on administrative cooperation in taxation, confirming a top-up tax information return template based on an OECD standard form and setting out how member states will exchange the information. The Council Presidency will also brief on financial services legislative proposals, including in the context of reducing regulatory burdens, and on preparation for upcoming international meetings.

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