Twelve actionable proposals have been introduced by the Court of Auditors to improve public finances by 2025, potentially saving €2.7 billion this year. Recommendations include limiting hiring aid for apprentices, adjusting vehicle eligibility for ecological bonuses, and reinstating previous tax caps. Emphasizing the urgency of deficit reduction, the Court aims to keep the public deficit below 5.5% of GDP in 2025, while ensuring that reforms do not compromise growth or public services.
Proposals for Public Finance Improvement
The Court of Auditors has recently unveiled twelve actionable proposals aimed at enhancing public finances as early as the 2025 finance law. This initiative comes after months of warnings regarding the state of public finances, with the Court regularly publishing notes detailing specific and quantifiable savings strategies.
Key Recommendations and Potential Savings
On Thursday, the First President of the Court, Pierre Moscovici, presented the first set of recommendations that could potentially generate €2.7 billion in savings this year through cuts in spending and increased revenue, with expectations of even greater savings by 2027. The report, titled ‘Exceptional aid measures: a crisis exit to be completed for the state budget’, highlights that many of the economic support measures introduced during the Covid pandemic and the inflation crisis are still in place, despite the resolution of the crises that necessitated them.
Moscovici emphasized the need to move away from a “whatever-it-costs” strategy that exacerbates public finance issues, noting an increase in public spending by three percentage points of GDP, reaching 57% compared to pre-crisis levels. He outlined several measures that he believes can be implemented without crossing critical boundaries.
For instance, he proposed limiting hiring aid for apprentices to those with educational levels 3 and 4 (secondary education) and excluding firms with over 250 employees, which could save €745 million in 2025. Other suggestions include lowering the eligibility threshold for vehicles qualifying for the ecological bonus to 1.925 tons (potential savings of €200 million), reverting to the 2021 mileage tax scale (savings of €530 million), and reinstating the previous cap on the tax credit for childcare expenses outside the home (another €200 million). Additionally, canceling uncommitted funds from cultural support initiatives could free up €194 million.
This note, initially commissioned by former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, is just the beginning, as Moscovici anticipates further recommendations to facilitate government and parliamentary discussions on the upcoming PLF and other financial documents.
Moscovici, who has previously served as a minister in socialist governments and as European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, has often criticized governments for their overly optimistic forecasts and insufficient deficit reduction measures. He underscored the importance of keeping the public deficit below 5.5% of GDP in the 2025 budget, following a projected 6.1% in 2024, with a goal of returning to below 3% by 2029 as promised to Brussels.
“In 2025, we will act as the watchdog that highlights the facts, identifies the stakes, and proposes necessary reforms,” he declared, assuring that these measures would be designed not to compromise growth, diminish public service quality, or undermine the social model.
Moscovici has established a systematic approach to these publications, promising a stream of concise, actionable spending reviews throughout 2025. The Court, which aims to ensure the effective use of public funds and keep citizens informed, typically produces detailed reports, but this latest note is designed to be more accessible and engaging, featuring clear highlights and summaries.
The next report, set to be released by spring, will focus on health insurance expenditures. “The need for deficit reduction has become urgent,” noted Moscovici, as the Court of Auditors seeks to engage more directly in the public finance discourse, warning that fundamental changes are on the horizon.