Under the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact, suspended since the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020, the deficit of EU member states must be less than 3% of GDP.
Published
Update
Reading time: 1 min
:quality(50)/2023/12/05/080-hl-smouchmouche-2228288-656f772c3e3bc522906790.jpg)
On Tuesday, December 5, the Minister of the Economy and Finance pleaded for flexibility in the new budgetary rules of the European Union (EU). Bruno Le Maire, who spoke at the conclusion of a conference in Bercy on the theme “Growth and Climate”, hopes that the recovery of public finances can be combined with necessary investments, rather than just the “austerity”.
Under the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact, suspended since the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020, the public debt of EU member states cannot exceed 60% of their gross domestic product (GDP), and their deficit must be less than 3% of GDP. The 27, however, consider this budgetary corset obsolete, denouncing in particular the rigidity of the trajectory for reducing debt and the deficit. But discussions on the reform of budgetary rules are still stumbling, particularly between Berlin, which insists on reducing deficits, and Paris which insists on supporting growth.
“I obviously believe in rules, in the need to restore our public finances, I am committed to it and we [le] will respect, but these rules must not prevent essential investments”, launched Bruno Le Maire, two days before a meeting of European Ministers of Economy and Finance in Brussels (Belgium). The Stability Pact “is an instrument (…), not an objective in itself”he added.
