Poland's Ministry of Finance reports on informal ECOFIN discussions on US tariffs and capital markets integration

Poland's Ministry of Finance published a recap of the first day of the informal Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meeting in Warsaw, where EU finance ministers and central bank governors focused on competitiveness and geopolitical risks, including the macroeconomic effects of recent US tariff policy changes. The morning Eurogroup and inclusive Eurogroup sessions examined the impact of US tariffs, the euro area economic outlook and fiscal policy coordination. Ministers also discussed maintaining a common EU response through trade defence measures and diplomacy, alongside longer-term steps to strengthen economic resilience such as diversifying supply chains and intensifying cooperation with third countries. In the afternoon, discussions shifted to improving the competitiveness of EU financial markets, with emphasis on deeper capital markets integration and better access to financing for strategic sectors including defence, the energy transition and digitalisation; Valdis Dombrovskis also indicated that the EU would suspend its first package of countermeasures to give negotiations a chance, while keeping options open if talks do not deliver satisfactory results. The informal ECOFIN meeting continues until Saturday, with the second day set to focus on financing defence in Europe, including discussion of a Bruegel analysis on integrating the European defence market.