FINANCE COUNCIL: SOME HEADWAY WITH EUROGROUP.

Euro-zone Ministers (plus Greece which is not due to joint the single currency until next January) agreed to meet at regular intervals ahead of Finance Council meetings, which are theoretically held every month. The European Commission is also supposed to proceed in September to publish economic indicators about the Euro zone. These will feature information about changes in the gross domestic product for the current quarter, as well as forecasts for the following three months, according to Community sources. The Italian Treasury Minister, Vincenzo Visco, ruled out any plan to include inflation in the indicators. "This has not been discussed. It is neither worthwhile nor feasible", he said.The possibility of extending the Eurogroup President's term of office beyond the six months covered by the EU's Presidency failed to delight the Euro zone countries. France was hopeful of extending the current six months to one or two years, or even creating a Troika of past, present and future presidencies or to have the Eurogroup president assisted by a Euro zone member of the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations so as to enhance the profile and stability of the Euro zone in internal fora. Euro-zone G-7 members are France, Italy and Germany. Portugal, Finland and the Netherlands rejected this idea. Mr Fabius realised that decisions about the matter are unlikely to be taken "in the coming weeks". In the wake of the numerous complaints made, mainly by the smaller Euro-zone countries, about French plans to beef up the Eurogroup, Paris has scaled down its ambitions in this area. All EU Ministers agreed to take the symbolic step of renaming the Euro-11 Committee (or Euro-12 with the arrival soon of Greece) Eurogroup. "This title is universally accepted", says Laurent Fabius.Euro/IMF.Mr Fabius told journalists on 17 July that he thinks the single currency is being undervalued and he referred to the economic fundamentals in the Euro zone. The French Minister expects to see a significant revaluation of the single currency. He spoke about an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report unveiled to the Eurogroup on 16 July. The report recognises that the "Euro zone's economic situation is the best it has been for 10 years", according to the Spanish Economy Minister, Rodrigo Rato. However, it is predicted that if the Euro's fortunes continue to be at a low ebb, as the money markets expect, "a small additional increase in interests rates will be...