The first meeting of the ECOFIN Council celebrated under the French Presidency, which was held in Brussels on July 8th, ended with important advences in two key areas such as oil and measures to enhance financial satbility, as well as the adoption of euro by Slovakia.

The first ECOFIN Council, held under the recently iniciated French Presidency, was chaired by Christine Lagarde, the Minister for the Economy, Industry and Employment. Discussions within the Council facilitated the presentation of the lines of work of the French Presidency and concluded in progress on essential subjects such as Slovakia's entry into the euro zone, solutions to tackle rising oil prices and strengthening the principles of transparency and responsibility in the financial sector.

Presenting the Presidency's programme, Christine Lagarde emphasised that she would be vigilant in ensuring that the ECOFIN Council achieved concrete economic and financial results to meet the expectations of European citizens in a challenging global economic context marked by strong uncertainty. She recalled the main lines of work for ECOFIN under the French Presidency, notably to:

• Identify solutions to deal with the economic shocks affecting the EU, such as rising oil prices.
• Strengthen the stability of the European financial system by harmonising the monitoring system and adapting its structure to the development of cross-border European groups.
• Continue the work begun on the functionning of the euro zone, based on the Commission Communication on EMU@10, published on the occasion of the euro zone's 10th anniversary.
• Advance the work on the architecture of VAT rates, strengthen anti-fraud and tax evasion provisions and initiate discussions on the role of taxation in the protection of the environment.

Within the discussions about the problem of rising oil prices, the Council agreed on a first specific measure, namely the weekly publication of data on Europe's commercial stocks in line with practices followed in other major economic sectors. This measure, the technical details of which will be subject to further Commission proposals, will, significantly increase market transparency by giving a clearer vision of energy reserves at world level. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is also expected to make additional suggestions for future investments. Several ministers also made suggestions for further discussion.

Ministers also adopted conclusions about the situation of financial markets and the implementation of the Council's roadmap on financial stability. For the first time the ECOFIN Council decided to act in favour of regulating ratings agencies. The Council, in agreement with the Commission, adopted the principle to set up a European ratings agency registry to ensure their compliance with a code of conduct defined at international level.

Furthermore, the Council adopted conclusions on the reform of the governance of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). The application of accounting standards plays a crucial role in ensuring financial stability since they act as the first warning light for potential financial risks. The IASB reform is aimed at setting up a monitoring committee comprising regulators from the financial sector with powers to raise questions of general interest such as financial stability.