Cooperation with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission

The Council of the European Union is a European Union institution where the Member States’ government representatives sit, i.e. the ministers of each Member State with responsibility for a given area. The Council is an essential EU decision-maker. Central banks participate at the biannual unofficial meetings of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), with Eesti Pank represented by the Governor.

The meetings of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council are prepared by the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) and its Alternates, who gather approximately seven times a year and include representatives of central banks. These meetings mainly address the legal regulation of the financial sector, the joint positions of the European Union at the IMF and G20 discussions, and issues related to public finance and fiscal policy supervision.

Eesti Pank also participates in lower-level working parties addressing the issue of euro coins and IMF-related matters.

Representatives of Eesti Pank attend the European Banking Committee, the Balance of Payments Committee and the Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics and working groups set up with the European Commission, dealing with communications, statistics, economic forecasts, payment and settlement systems, banking, banknotes and coins, and counterfeit money.

Meetings are held on a regular basis with the macro-economy experts of the European Commission, and the Estonian economists providing their input to the biannual economic forecast prepared by the European Commission.

On the domestic front, Eesti Pank cooperates in European Union matters with the Ministry of Finance and the State Chancellery. Eesti Pank is also involved in the preparation of the meetings of the heads of state and government of the European Union (Council of Europe) in matters related to economic and financial cooperation and the functioning of the euro area.