COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION:Presidency press release after the informal meeting of Economic and Financial Affairs ministers, 13 September 2019, Helsinki, Finland

PRESS

Council of the European Union 13/09/2019  Presidency press release after the informal meeting of Economic  and Financial Affairs ministers, 13 September 2019, Helsinki, Finland Resilience to hybrid threats emerged as a key theme on the first day of  the informal meeting of EU member states’ finance ministers on Friday  13 September. The ministers also discussed stepping up action to combat climate change. EU FINANCE MINISTERS: CLOSER ATTENTION MUST BE GIVEN  TO HYBRID THREATS EU2019FIMinistry of Finance13.9.201918.11 Photo: Lauri Heikkinen / Prime Minister's Office Resilience to hybrid threats  emerged as a key theme on  the first day of the informal  meeting of EU member  states’ finance ministers on Friday 13 September. The ministers also  discussed stepping up action to combat climate change. The meeting was held in Helsinki and chaired by Finland’s Minister of  Finance Mika Lintilä. Financial sector needs stronger capacity to tackle threats and disruptions The financial sector provides many of society’s most critical services,  making it an inviting target for hybrid actions. The EU finance ministers  noted that the sector’s capacity to combat hybrid threats and disruptions  to infrastructure should be strengthened. Minister Lintilä stressed the importance of raising awareness of hybrid  threats to the financial sector. This was the first time that the finance  ministers discussed the issue together. The main themes raised during  the discussion were exercises against hybrid threats, information  sharing and cooperation between authorities. According to Lintilä, today's debate represented an excellent step forward. “Our discussion provided a good start for the finance ministers to assume  a more active role in countering hybrid threats. We need to defend  against threats to systems that are vital to the functioning of the  financial sector, and to react to those threats if necessary – jointly  and in a coordinated manner,” Minister Lintilä said. In addition to hybrid threats to the financial sector, the topics addressed  at the first day of the informal meeting of finance ministers included  stronger action to mitigate climate change. The climate debate is also  on the agenda on the second day of the meeting on Saturday 14  September, when the ministers will discuss energy taxation. Inquiries Martti Salmi, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Finance, tel. +358 400 510 304, martti.salmi(at)vm.fi Niina Nurkkala, Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance, tel. +358 50 347 2661, niina.nurkkala(at)vm.fi Tommi Tolkki, Communications Specialist (requests for interviews), Ministry of Finance, tel. +358 2955 30269 (Presidency media service), press(at)vm.fi Meeting agenda and discussion papers  Council newsroom: videos  EU2019FI backgrounders: Common action to counter hybrid threats  EU2019FI backgrounders: Energy taxation in support of climate action  EU finance ministers will meet in Helsinki to discuss climate change action and the financial sector’s resilience to hybrid threats (Press release 28 August 2019)