The European Council published a readout of a Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg covering the euro area macroeconomic and budget situation, progress on Capital Markets Union (CMU) and recent developments in stablecoins. Ministers noted continued high uncertainty but a resilient euro area, with the European Commission and the European Central Bank pointing to better-than-expected growth in the first half of the year; the group also discussed the euro’s strong appreciation against the US dollar and will continue to monitor exchange rate developments. On fiscal policy, the discussion focused on member states’ budget preparations, with coordination highlighted as essential ahead of the later-in-the-year Eurogroup exchange on draft budgetary plans. In inclusive format, ministers held the first annual CMU stock-take since last spring’s statement, highlighting a “multi-layer” approach combining bottom-up national action with top-down EU initiatives, including updates from Croatia on market infrastructure consolidation, Portugal on approaches to initial public offerings, Ireland on its new auto-enrolment retirement system (My Future Fund), and the Commission on recent EU initiatives. Ministers also exchanged views on stablecoins, noting growing interest from established financial institutions and corporate actors and assessing potential opportunities and risks; the Eurogroup plans to return to the topic, including in light of recent progress on the digital euro. The meeting concluded with an update on a letter to be sent to President Costa ahead of the Euro Summit scheduled for the week of 20 October 2025.

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