Finance minister Riikka Purra (ps) represented Finland at the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting on Tuesday and the previous day at the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels.
In Brussels, the ministers discussed, among other things, the economic and financial effects of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, it was planned to hold a press conference where Minister Purra will talk about the EU meetings. However, the event was canceled due to scheduling challenges. Kauppalehti did not reach Minister Purra after the meetings.
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance Leena Mörttinen was there to listen to the conversation. He tells Kauppalehti that the meeting specifically discussed the need to continue supporting Ukraine.
European Parliament accepted in October of a new macroeconomic aid loan to support Ukraine, which is fighting a defensive war.
“Minister Purra strongly emphasized that Europe must be ready to do more if money cannot be found elsewhere. Europe has its responsibility towards Ukraine, and it is also a matter of European security to ensure support for Ukraine,” says Mörttinen.
Good spirit.
Leena Mörttinen, Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Finance, says that there was a good spirit in Brussels despite the uncertain times.
PHOTO: OUTI JÄRVINE
The economic situation raises questions
However, the economic situation in Europe raises concerns. Among other things, the growth of Germany, the largest economy in the euro area, has remained very weak. At the same time, several states have clear challenges with public finances and debt development.
“Getting the public finances in order is a key issue in terms of European unity and partly also security, along with supporting Ukraine, so that the economy is ready to withstand unexpected shocks,” says Mörttinen.
However, according to Mörttinen, the financial issues related to supporting Ukraine have hardly come up. The EU states see that Ukraine must be supported because the crisis can lead to significantly higher costs later.
However, the ministers acknowledged the prevailing geo-economic and geopolitical uncertainty, which also directly affects Europe. in France the government fell in December.
In Germany, on the other hand, early elections will be held in February Olaf Scholzin as a result of the fall of the government coalition of social democrats, greens and liberal democrats.
“Predictability positive”
According to Mörttinen, it is a fact that the political cycle is quite fast, and changes will occur. However, according to him, it is unfortunate if the largest countries are between governments at the same time.
“Usually these things get bogged down in some way. The new government negotiates, forms its position and finds its role. However, it is to be hoped that the positions are not very different from one government to another. Predictability is always positive.”
According to Mörttinen, despite the prevailing uncertainty, the meeting was good-natured.
“I think our decision-makers are very pragmatic and very capable of creativity. Rarely is there a lot of trouble here. If there is an acute crisis at hand, for which a solution must be found quickly, that is of course a different situation. Nothing like that was particularly on the table now,” says Mörttinen.
Fact
Which euro group?
The Eurogroup is an informal body under the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union (Ecofin), where the ministers of the euro area member states discuss issues related to the euro currency.
The Eurogroup usually meets once a month before the Ecofin meeting of the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council, which is part of the Council of the European Union.
The actual decision-making takes place through Ecofin. The nature of the Eurogroup is informal, according to the Treaty of Lisbon, the founding treaty of the European Union.