site.btaBulgaria at ECOFIN Council in Luxembourg

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova on Friday took part in a regular Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meeting in Luxembourg. During the last meeting of the Belgian EU Presidency, the finance ministers examined the economic and financial consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the VAT package in the digital era, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and the European Semester.

Minister Petkova expressed the Bulgaria's support for Ukraine and called for a prompt clarification of the technical details of a G7 proposal to provide a loan to Ukraine, which will be repaid with future revenues from frozen Russian assets. The EU must continue to maintain unity on Ukraine, including within the G7.

Although Bulgaria and a number of member states supported the Presidency's compromise, the Council failed to reach agreement on the VAT package in the digital era.
Ministers exchanged views on the state of play of the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility  and endorsed Ireland's amendment to the plan.

The presidency and the European Commission briefed ministers on the state of play of legislative proposals in the area of financial services.