Prior to today’s meeting of the European ministers of economy and finance (ECOFIN) - one of the most important European Think Tanks (EUROFI) - that always takes place in the presiding country of the Council of the EU began yesterday in Ghent, Belgium. The 900 invited participants were also joined by the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, who arrived in Belgium as early as Monday, and used this time for several bilateral talks, including with the honorary President and former Secretary General of the World Federation of Investors (WFI), Mr. Jean-Pierre Paelinck, as well as with the Managing Director of the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (BETTER FINANCE), Aleksandra Mączyńska.
Initially, the participants of the EUROFI were addressed by the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Finance, Vincent Van Peteghem; followed by an intense three-day program that will feature over 50 events – including rounds tables, presentations, addresses, and a gala reception. With the European elections looming around the corner, the participants are discussing the main priorities of the EU in the next five years in the field of banking and financial services, including the main priorities for improving the global economic competitiveness of the EU, the digital finance, promoting long-term investments in the green and digital transformation of the EU, the single capital market, as well as the consequences of the long period of the zero interest rates and major leverages in the past 15 years. Many prominent representatives from the fields of economy, finance and politics will share their views, including Valdis Dombrovskis, the Executive Vice President of the European Commission and the Commissioner for Trade, Mairead McGuinness, the European Commissioner for financial services, financial stability and the Capital Markets Union, Pierre Wunsch, the Governor of the National Bank of Belgium, François Villeroy de Galhau, the Governor of the National Bank of France, and many others.
After his visit to Ghent, Mr. Verbič traveled to Brussels where he is – as a member of the Expert Advisory Group of the Financial Services User Group at the European Commission (FSUG) – attending the two-day meeting of this major consulting body comprised of 20 members from 11 EU countries. After that, the VZMD President will travel to Bulgaria to join the economic delegation, which will visit the Bulgarian capital Sofia, on the occasion of the official visit by the President of the Republic of Slovenia.
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