11th July 2014

Eurogroup discusses structural reform coordination

On 7 July, the eurozone finance ministers met in Brussels to discuss how to improve euro-area´s competitiveness. At the meeting, the ministers announced renewed focus on structurl reform coordination. The first issue the ministers discussed, was tax wedge on labour. The tax wedge on labour is the difference an empoyer pays for an employee, including all taxes and insurance costs, and the employee´s take-home-pay. Eleven of the 18 euro-area states were recommended to reduce this difference. These tax reductions should be financed by expenditure cuts, as well as by shifting the tax burden to a less growth-sensitive areas of the economy. The ministers were also briefed on the progress made in the Single SUpervisory Mechanism, a part of the nascent banking union set to assume its responsibilities this Fall, and discussed the progress of Greece in the program which unlocked €1 billion from the EFSF for the country.

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Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic