Reform of the fiscal rules of the Stability and Growth Pact It entered a new phase with its approval this Wednesday. European Parliament – 431 votes in favour, 172 against and 4 abstentions. negotiating position. Although the timetable and deadlines for the European Parliament and the Council to reach a political agreement are perfectly fair, MEPs intend to change the rules approved by the European Council. Ekofin We softened the outcome by eliminating new targets last December. open and allowing more time to reduce debt.
“Parliament’s position brings additional flexibility for the necessary investments towards the union’s key priorities,” said the popular MEP and rapporteur of the report. Esther De Lange. “We recommend greater flexibility and more time to reduce costs. debt“We reject the new budget deficit targets and new austerity policies in the final stage of negotiations to prevent the Germans from vetoing them in the Council,” the Socialist member added. Margarida MarquesAbout the position they will defend in the inter-institutional negotiations that begin on Wednesday.
“The positions are quite different and we will have to discuss to reach an agreement. But we have to move forward, we have no choice. We need clarity in economic governance. The credibility of the EU is at stake The Belgian finance minister said this Tuesday: “We must continue to move forward.” Vincent van PeteghemAfter the Ecofin meeting. “The Council’s position represents a delicate balance between all Member States. We know that we have only a few weeks to finalize it,” explained the Belgian foreign minister. Haja Lahbib.
Corrected program
If the EU wants to reach an agreement this term, inter-institutional negotiators will need to reach an agreement within the first two weeks of February at the latest. Only then will the European Parliament and the European Parliament have sufficient margin to complete the processing of the texts and carry out their legal translation before their dissolution. european elections It is scheduled for June 6-9. If no agreement is reached in time, existing rules will apply, but speakers made clear that “any proposal from the three institutions will always be better than returning to the old rules.” meeting. vote. The parliamentary agreement moved forward with the support of the popularists, socialists, liberals and ultra-conservatives.
Both the Belgian EU presidency and the commissioner for economic affairs, Paolo Gentiloni has accepted the tight timetable but, like the majority of the European Parliament, thinks the proposal on the table is better than the old rules. “It will be very important to preserve our proposals,” the Italian said, demanding that four points be maintained: moving to a different risk-based approach to guarantee a realistic and sustainable debt reduction, relying on strong incentives for sustainable growth, strengthening national ownership and developing a reliable implementation mechanism.
“The Commission is willing to facilitate these negotiations” but “let me be clear: there is not much time to adapt. “The European elections are approaching and deactivating the general escape clause and reintroducing pre-existing rules is important to finalize this file and ensure clarity and predictability in fiscal policy,” he reminded, warning that “we all know the old rules” and before that. “Uncertain geopolitical environment” We must not lose the ultimate goal, he added, and this is nothing less than providing the EU with “a reform framework that allows for the gradual reduction of debts and leaves room for the enormous public investments required”.