Fiscal rules and the macroeconomic constraint
The need to revise the eurozone fiscal rules now seems widely accepted and many amendments are being discussed. They are still meant to impose discipline on governments’ financial behaviour but are trying to define smarter ways to constrain public deficits or spending. The purpose of this policy insight is neither to dispute the need for […]
The EU’s economic governance review
The European Commission has recently re-launched the Economic Governance Review, following its suspension due to the start of the Covid-19 crisis in early 2020. However, there has been an active policy debate about the EU’s fiscal rules for several years and several proposals have been subsequently made. Options include debt rules, spending rules and continuing […]
Fiscal rules in a post-Covid brave new world
On 19 October 2021, the European Commission published a Communication to relaunch the public debate on the review of the EU economic governance framework. A key issue to be discussed is how to ensure sustainable public finances in all Member States when the ‘general escape clause’ is eventually lifted, in place since March 2020. At […]