FINANCE COUNCIL: ECONOMIC POLICY GUIDELINES AND DEVELOPMENT AID AT MAY 13-14 INFORMAL SESSION.

The informal Finance Council session will be preceded by a meeting of euro-zone ministers. The Eurogroup meeting on May 13 will assess the international and European economic outlook. The latest available data does not point to an imminent recovery in the economy.

Euro-zone ministers will examine scope at their meeting for enhancing their representation in international bodies. The issue has yet to be settled. For example, French, German and Italian ministers participate individually at G7 Finance meetings, (all three being members of this international body and the euro-zone). The chairman-in-office of the Eurogroup, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, and Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia also attend G7 meetings, though in a more limited fashion, this in spite of the fact that the euro-zone is the world's second economic power.

The dinner on June 13 should permit ministers from all the member states to discuss the...