The European Union needs a budget that is modern and future-proof. Against the backdrop of current challenges and Brexit, the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework needs a new focus. Negotiations are currently underway. The German Finance Ministry basically supports the European Commission’s proposals, but believes that they do not go far enough. Germany is in favour of a more far-reaching modernisation of the budget.

Good news for everyone who likes to read: European finance ministers paved the way for the equal tax treatment of digital media at the meeting of the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) on 2 October 2018. The reduced rate of value added tax (VAT) can now be applied to e-books and e-newspapers. Previously, it could only be applied to print media.

How can we ensure that multinational corporations in the digital sector are taxed appropriately? This question was addressed by German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and his fellow finance ministers at the Eurogroup and informal ECOFIN meetings in Vienna on 7–8 September 2018. The discussions focused on the search for a smart, swift solution. Other topics on the agenda included reform of the currency union and the completion of the banking union.

The presidency of the Council of the EU rotates among the member states every six months. In July 2018, Austria took up the presidency as scheduled, presenting its programme to the EU finance ministers at the ECOFIN meeting in Brussels on 13 July. For the Eurogroup meeting on 12 July, items on the agenda included further steps to develop the monetary union, as well as an analysis of the euro area’s current economic and budgetary situation.