Economic and Financial Affairs

Responsibilities

The Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN) aims to contribute to raising the economic standards of citizens in the European Union and beyond and promote sustainable prosperity, by fostering competitive and resilient economies, ensuring fiscal sustainability and promoting productivity-focused investment.  

DG ECFIN contributes to evidence-based policy advice and design to underpin economic growth based on competitive sustainability. DG ECFIN conducts economic forecasts and business and consumer surveys to underpin economic policy in the EU. Within the Union, it undertakes economic surveillance of the Member States economies, focusing on macroeconomic and fiscal policies.  It also coordinates the Commission’s work for a deeper and fairer Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The Directorate-General is further responsible for economic policy coordination, in particular through the European Semester, and safeguarding fiscal and financial stability in the EU. Finally, DG ECFIN promotes the role of the EU as a global actor in the economic arena, including by coordinating with European and International Financial Institutions, working to reach consensus in the finance track of the G20 and G7 fora on EU international economic priorities, and through financial assistance to partner countries.

DG ECFIN works to support people and businesses, and build a competitive,  greener, more digital and resilient European economy, in line with the EU’s long-term goals and the Commission’s priorities. 

To this end, the Directorate-General is in charge of a wide range of instruments and policies: 

• DG ECFIN, together with the Reform and Investment Taskforce (SG REFORM), is responsible for the implementation of the EU’s main recovery tool, the €650 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The RRF Scoreboard gives an overview of how the implementation of the RRF and national recovery and resilience plans is progressing;
• The DG is responsible to apply the European Union’s economic governance framework to monitor, prevent, and correct problematic economic trends that could weaken national economies or negatively affect other EU countries;
• Should a non-euro area Member State request balance-of-payment (BOP) assistance, DG ECFIN is responsible to conduct the analysis and prepare the documents for financial assistance to be granted, as per the legal framework;
• DG ECFIN is also responsible for macro-financial assistance programmes (MFA) to partner countries, including the MFA loan to Ukraine as part of a G-7 support package of  the Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism;
• DG ECFIN ensures coordination with the EIB Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and other European and International Financial Institutions (EFIs and IFIs) in the implementation of EU policies, through the institutions' governing bodies and other means of cooperation.

Economic and Financial Affairs website

As part of the Commission's commitment to transparency, Commission staff holding management functions publish information on and minutes of all meetings they hold with interest representatives.