CELEX ID: 32012D0245

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Document:
8.5.2012
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
L 121/22
COUNCIL DECISION
of 26 April 2012
on a revision of the Statutes of the Economic and Financial Committee
(2012/245/EU)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 242 thereof,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Commission,
Whereas:
(1)
In accordance with Article 114(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, an Economic and Financial Committee (‘Committee’) was set up on 1 January 1999.
(2)
On 21 December 1998, the Council adopted Decision 98/743/EC on the detailed provisions concerning the composition of the Economic and Financial Committee 
(
1
)
.
(3)
On 31 December 1998, the Council adopted Decision 1999/8/EC adopting the Statutes of the Economic and Financial Committee 
(
2
)
; these Statutes were revised by Council Decision 2003/476/EC of 18 June 2003 
(
3
)
 in order to ensure the continued effective functioning of the Committee after the accession of ten Member States on 1 May 2004.
(4)
The Heads of State or Government of the Member States whose currency is the euro stated on 26 October 2011 that the preparatory body referred to in Article 1 of Protocol (No 14) on the euro Group, composed of representatives of the Ministers with responsibility for finance of the Member States whose currency is the euro and of the Commission (‘the Eurogroup Working Group’), would be chaired by a full-time President. As a consequence, the person nominated to this post will cease to be an official in a national administration and will be employed by the EU Institutions.
(5)
On the same day, the Heads of State or Government of the Member States whose currency is the euro stated that the existing administrative structures providing assistance to the Council and to the Committee, namely, the General Secretariat of the Council and the Secretariat of the Economic and Financial Committee, would provide adequate support to the euro Summit President and the President of the Eurogroup, under the guidance of the President of the Committee/Eurogroup Working Group.
(6)
The Committee should be able to choose its President from among the most qualified candidates, including the President of the Eurogroup Working Group.
(7)
The Statutes of the Committee should therefore be revised,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The Statutes of the Economic and Financial Committee, as set out in the Annex to Decision 1999/8/EC, as amended by Decision 2003/476/EC, shall be replaced by the text set out in the Annex hereto.
Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force the day following its publication in the 
Official Journal of the European Union
.
Done at Luxembourg, 26 April 2012.
For the Council
The President
M. BØDSKOV
(
1
)
  
            
OJ L 358, 31.12.1998, p. 109
.
(
2
)
  
            
OJ L 5, 9.1.1999, p. 71
.
(
3
)
  
            
OJ L 158, 27.6.2003, p. 58
.
ANNEX
‘STATUTES OF THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE
Article 1
The Economic and Financial Committee (“Committee”) shall carry out the tasks described in Article 134(2) and (4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Article 2
The Committee may, inter alia:
—
be consulted in the procedure leading to decisions relating to the exchange-rate mechanism of the third stage of economic and monetary union,
—
without prejudice to Article 240 of the Treaty, prepare the Council’s reviews of the development of the exchange rate of the euro,
—
provide the framework within which the dialogue between the Council and the European Central Bank (ECB) may be prepared and continued at the level of senior officials from ministries, national central banks, the Commission and the ECB.
Article 3
Members of the Committee and alternates shall be guided, in the performance of their duties, by the general interests of the Union.
Article 4
The Committee shall meet under the chairmanship of the President in two configurations: either with the members selected from administrations, the national central banks, the Commission and the ECB, or with the members from administrations, the Commission and the ECB. The Committee in its full composition shall regularly review the list of the issues on which the national central bank members are expected to attend the meetings.
Article 5
Opinions, reports and communications shall be adopted by a majority of the members if a vote is requested. Each member of the Committee shall have one vote. However, when advice or an opinion is given on questions on which the Council may subsequently take a decision, members from central banks, when they are present, and the Commission may participate fully in the discussions but shall not participate in a vote. The Committee shall also report on minority or dissenting views expressed in the course of the discussion.
Article 6
The Committee shall elect, by a majority of its members, a President for a two-year term, which shall be renewable. Those eligible for election as President shall be Committee members who are senior officials in national administrations and the President of the preparatory body referred to in Article 1 of Protocol No 14 on the euro Group, composed of representatives of the Ministers with responsibility for finance of the Member States whose currency is the euro and of the Commission (“the Eurogroup Working Group”).
If the President of the Committee is a Committee member from a national administration, he shall delegate his voting right to his alternate.
Article 7
In the event of being prevented from fulfilling his duties, the President of the Committee shall be replaced by the Vice-President of the Committee. The Vice-President shall be elected for a term of two years, by a majority of Committee members. Those eligible for election as Vice-President shall be Committee members who are senior officials in national administrations and the President of the Eurogroup Working Group, unless the latter has been appointed as President of the Committee.
Article 8
If the President of the Eurogroup Working Group is not President of the Committee, he may attend meetings of the Committee and take part in the discussions, unless the Committee decides otherwise.
Unless the Committee decides otherwise, alternates may attend meetings of the Committee. The alternates shall not vote. Unless the Committee decides otherwise, they shall not take part in the discussions.
A member who is unable to attend a meeting of the Committee may delegate his functions to one of the alternates or to another member. The Chairman and the Secretary of the Committee should be informed in writing before the meeting. In exceptional circumstances the President may agree to alternative arrangements.
Article 9
The Committee may entrust the study of specific questions to its alternate members, to subcommittees or to working parties. In these cases, the Presidency shall be assumed by a member or an alternate member of the Committee, appointed by the Committee. The members of the Committee, its alternates, and its subcommittees or working parties may call upon experts to assist them.
Article 10
The Committee shall be convened by the President on his own initiative, or at the request of the Council, of the Commission or of at least four members of the Committee.
Article 11
As a rule, the President represents the Committee; in particular, the President may be authorised by the Committee to report on discussions and deliver oral comments on opinions and communications prepared by the Committee. The President shall have the responsibility of maintaining the Committee’s relations with the European Parliament.
Article 12
The proceedings of the Committee shall be confidential. The same rule shall apply to the proceedings of its alternates, subcommittees or working parties.
Article 13
The Committee shall be assisted by a Secretariat under the direction of a Secretary. The Secretary and the Secretariat’s staff shall be supplied by the Commission. The Secretary shall be appointed by the Commission after consultation of the Committee. The Secretary and his staff shall act on the instructions of the Committee when carrying out their responsibilities towards the Committee.
The expenses of the Committee shall be included in the estimates of the Commission.
Article 14
The Committee shall adopt its own procedural arrangements.’

Summary:
Economic and Financial Committee
SUMMARY OF:
Decision 2012/245/EU – revised Statutes of the Economic and Financial Committee
WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DECISION?
It sets up the 
Economic and Financial Committee (EFC)
, a committee which plays a key role in the areas of economic, financial, taxation and exchange rate policy.
The EFC works closely with the 
European Commission
, the 
Council
, the 
Eurogroup
, the 
European Central Bank (ECB)
 and European Union (EU) countries’ national central banks.
KEY POINTS
The EFC was originally established in 1992 under the 
Maastricht Treaty
. It has the following tasks:
to deliver opinions at the request of the Council or the Commission, or on its own initiative, for submission to those institutions;
to keep under review the economic and financial situation of the EU countries and of the EU and to report regularly afterwards to the Council and to the Commission, in particular on financial relations with non-EU countries and international institutions;
to contribute to the preparation of the work of the EU’s Economic and Finance Ministers Council (known as 
Ecofin
),and to carry out other advisory and preparatory tasks assigned to it by the Council;
to examine, at least once a year, the situation regarding the 
movement of capital
 and the freedom of payments, as they result from the application of the treaties and of measures adopted by the Council;
to keep under review the monetary and financial situation and the general payments system of the EU countries with a derogation (those in respect of which the Council has not decided that they fulfil the necessary conditions for the adoption of the euro) and report regularly to the Council and to the Commission.
Composition
The Committee is composed of senior officials from national administrations and central banks, the ECB and the Commission. Each EU country appoints two representatives (one from the national civil service and one from the national central bank) as well as two alternate members. The Commission and the ECB each designate two full members and two alternates.
The EFC meets in 
two configurations
 i.e. with or without national central bank members depending on the items on the Ecofin agenda.
The EFC also meets in a euro-area configuration, the 
Eurogroup Working Group
. In this setting, only the euro-area members meet with the Commission and the ECB in order to prepare the work of the Eurogroup. National central bank representatives are not present.
A fulltime 
president
 is elected from among the representatives of the national administrations for a renewable period of 2 years. He/she is assisted by a 
Secretariat
 which also supports the 
Economic Policy Committee
 and the Eurogroup.
Operation
EFC opinions and reports are normally adopted by consensus either at meetings or by written procedure. Where a vote takes place, each full member (or in their absence, their alternate) has a vote. If the EFC opinion is on a matter that will result in an Ecofin decision, the national central bank and Commission representatives do not take part in the vote.
Working groups and sub-committees
In May 2013, a High Level Expert Group was set up to make recommendations on increasing access to capital markets for SME and long-term infrastructure financing in Europe. The EFC also has subcommittees and working groups to cover a broad range of topics both on a permanent and 
ad hoc
 basis, including:
EU sovereign debt markets
 (i.e. markets for securities, bonds, etc. sold by governments to finance their borrowings);
financial stability and financial services issues (such as developments in the insurance and pension funds sectors);
the 
International Monetary Fund
 and related issues;
euro coins circulation and issuance;
statistics.
FROM WHEN DOES THE DECISION APPLY?
It has applied since 9 May 2012.
BACKGROUND
For more information, see:
‘About the EFC’
 on the Europa website.
MAIN DOCUMENT
Council Decision 
2012/245/EU
 of 26 April 2012 on a revision of the Statutes of the Economic and Financial Committee (OJ L 121, 8.5.2012, pp. 22–24)
RELATED DOCUMENTS
Council Decision 
98/743/EC
 of 21 December 1998 on the detailed provisions concerning the composition of the Economic and Financial Committee (OJ L 358, 31.12.1998, pp. 109–110).
Council Decision 
1999/8/EC
 of 31 December 1998 adopting the Statutes of the Economic and Financial Committee (OJ L 5, 9.1.1999, p. 71)
Successive amendments to Decision 1999/8/EC have been incorporated in to the original document. This 
consolidated version
 is of documentary value only.
last update 29.03.2017

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