ECOFIN Council holds meeting in Warsaw at invitation of NBP Governor

On 11–12 April 2025, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union (ECOFIN) is holding an informal meeting in Warsaw.

Discussions concern, among other things, the competitiveness of the EU financial markets, their role in supporting investment, the impact of the changes in international trade on the stability of financial markets, and the project of the European Savings and Investments Union:

“Firstly, the European Savings and Investments policy should acknowledge the diversity of the EU Member States. The diversity concerns, first of all, the level of household savings, the degree of financialisation and the sources of financing of the real economy. Secondly, we need to ensure that the Union is designed in a way that distributes the benefits fairly among all EU citizens,” said the NBP Governor during the working meeting of the heads of the European Union central banks.

“First of all, we shall remain pragmatic. Financial markets are inherently volatile, sometimes prices move far away from fundamentals and investors overreact to uncertainty. So we – policy makers – should keep calm and carry on, focusing on the long-term issues and challenges.

“One of the long-term challenges now is the urgent need to boost European competitiveness in the field of financial markets. Many years ago we agreed that Europe is overbanked. Currently, it is high time to change it. Banks don’t fulfil their tasks when it comes to financing the corporate sector, in particular innovative projects. Therefore, we may consider introducing incentives for households to reallocate part of their ample savings from banks to the capital market,” said Professor Adam Glapiński, Governor of NBP, during the joint session of the finance ministers and central bank governors.

At the invitation of Professor Adam Glapiński, Governor of NBP, the ECOFIN Council meeting in Warsaw is attended by Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, and the governors of the central banks of the European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. The participants are discussing the future of the EU financial markets.

The finance ministers and high-ranking representatives of EU institutions and agencies, including the European Commission and the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), are also in attendance.

During a joint session, the finance ministers, governors of central banks and the invited guests are going to address the issues of the competitiveness of the European financial markets and their role in supporting investment, especially in the context of the EU Savings and Investments Union initiative.

*** Informal ECOFIN Council meetings are arranged during every presidency and are held in the country chairing the EU Council. Unlike formal ECOFIN Council meetings, informal meetings are attended not only by finance ministers, but also by heads of the national central banks of the EU. The meetings provide an opportunity to discuss current and long-term financial and economic issues. Customarily, informal meetings are co-hosted by the finance minister and the governor of the central bank of the country holding the presidency.