The big six take over. Is the end of Europe as we know it?

The group of the six largest EU economies, the so-called the big six (E6) are to break the political deadlock in the Community in the face of challenges from the US and China, the Politico website wrote on Thursday, citing Spain's Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo.

As the Spanish politician emphasized, US President Donald Trump's threats to annex Danish Greenland were a “moment of awakening” for the six largest EU economies. This prompted them to join forces and accelerate the reform of financial markets, Cuerpo added.

The new group, called “E6” in Brussels, is an exclusive club of the six largest EU economies: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland, which aims to break the political deadlock that has hampered efforts to create a US-style financial market for the past decade, explains Politico.

Cooperation in this format is intended to be a response to economic and geopolitical challenges, including keeping pace with the US and China.

“The goal is to engage in politically difficult discussions to be able to unblock issues that have remained blocked so far. Building these bridges can be a good first step towards an overall solution,” Cuerpo explained.

As Politico notes, this format is also intended to serve, among others, coordination of activities before G7 meetings or discussions on strategic issues, such as access to rare earth metals in the face of threats from China.

There are no restrictions in this group's discussions. I think it should benefit everyone,” Cuerpo said.

However, smaller countries, such as Ireland or Portugal, fear that the club proposed by Spain will ignore dissenting voices in its pursuit of creating a two-speed Europe, the portal emphasized.

On Monday, the first meeting of finance ministers representing the six strongest EU economies, known as the EU's “Big Six” (E6), took place in Brussels. The Minister of Finance, Andrzej Domański, also took part in it. – It is important that we are in this format, but we want quick and ambitious reforms – he said.

The next E6 meeting is scheduled for March 9; will be devoted to defense investments and ways to promote the euro internationally. (PAP)

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