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Economic and Financial Affairs Council, 5 May 2026
Main results
Fight against tax fraud
The Council agreed new rules tostrengthenthe fight against value added tax (VAT) fraud in the EU by ramping up cooperation between member states, the European public prosecutor’s office (EPPO) and the European anti-fraud office (OLAF).
The new framework will give EPPO and OLAF more direct access to key VAT data on cross-border business transactions in the EU, including information held by Eurofisc - the EU’s anti-VAT fraud network.
We have taken massive strides in tackling VAT fraud over recent years. But our budgets still lose out to the tune of billions of euros every year and authorities need the right tools to tackle these criminal activities more quickly. Today’s agreement will give EU investigative bodies the targeted information they need to pursue criminals swiftly and to protect national and EU revenues that benefit us all.
Makis Keravnos, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus
Ministers exchanged views and highlighted the need for further political guidance on the market integration and supervision package – a key element of the savings and investments union. The package also forms part of the “One Europe, One Market” roadmap which calls for its final adoption by the end of 2026.
The draft legislation aims to deepen integration of EU capital markets by removing barriers to cross-border provision of investment activities and strengthening supervisory efficiency. This should help in turn to boost EU competitiveness through the mobilisation of private savings.
In particular, the draft rules encompass measures aimed at strengthening the role of the European securities and markets authority (ESMA), including by reinforcing its role in EU-level supervision in agreed areas and reforming its governance.
Overall, during the discussion, ministers recognised the need to deliver on the goals of the market integration and supervision package. Many stressed that it was important to avoid the duplication of efforts and increased costs, as well as the need to strike the right balance between ambition and speed.
All member states agreed with the overarching objectives of the proposed legislation, while expressing significantly diverging views on the appropriate level of EU centralisation, scope and design of supervision. Some member states also emphasised the need for agreement on the final package by the end of 2026.
Ministers exchanged views on the state of play of the economic and financial impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, based on an update from the Commission. This is a recurring item on the ECOFIN agenda.
The discussion focused on the operational implementation of the €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine, agreed by the European Council in December 2025 and for which the legislative framework was finalised on 23 April 2026.
The loan will be financed through EU borrowing on the capital markets and backed by the EU budget headroom. The loan is to be repaid by reparations due by Russia to Ukraine.
The Council adopted implementing decisions approving targeted amendments submitted by Denmark to its recovery and resilience plan.
The RRF is the EU’s large-scale financial support programme in response to the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has posed to the European economy. It is the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU, a temporary recovery instrument that allows the Commission to raise funds to help repair the immediate economic and social damage caused by the pandemic.
To benefit from the facility, member states must submit recovery and resilience plans (RRPs) to the Commission, setting out the reforms and investments they intend to implement by the end of August 2026.
To date, around €398 billion has been disbursed from the RRF.
The presidency and Commission debriefed the Council on the main outcomes of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting, which took place on 16 April in the margins of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington DC.
Dialogue with regional partners
The annual economic and financial dialogue with regional partners took place in the margins of the Council meeting.
The current and two incoming presidencies (Cyprus, Ireland, Lithuania), as well as the Commission, the ECB, the EIB, the Western Balkans partners, Moldova and Ukraine as an observer discussed economic developments, challenges and policy plans.
Participants of the dialogue adopted joint conclusions with targeted policy guidance for each participating partner.
