EU fiscal policy

European economy 20th May 2022

Brussels Proposes To Keep Fiscal Rules Suspended For Another Year Because Of The War

On Wednesday 18 May, European Commission commissioners finally agreed to submit a proposal to European countries on Monday 23 May to suspend public debt and deficit targets for 2023, for the fourth consecutive year. The measure, which will still have to be validated by the member states, gives countries such as Spain an additional grace period to get their public accounts back on track after the Covid bill. The European…

European economy 18th May 2022

The IMF Calls In Brussels For Fiscal Rules In Europe To Be Applied According To The Debt Of Each Country

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes that the debate on whether or not to return to fiscal rules in the European Union is more timely than ever. Now the continent is going through a “second economic crisis” due to the war in Ukraine, after a first one due to the pandemic from which we have not yet recovered. Gita Gopinath, deputy director general of the IMF, said the new fiscal…

European economy 28th October 2021

The ESM Suggests Raising The Public Debt Ceiling In EU Rules From 60% To 100% Of GDP

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) proposes raising the ceiling on public debt set by EU fiscal discipline rules from 60 to 100 per cent of GDP, and combining it with a rule limiting public spending to ensure fiscal sustainability, as reported by EFE. In a paper published in advance of the review of these rules, economists at the eurozone bailout fund argue that, in the current context, insisting on the…

In Europe 30th December 2016

Europe: Out Of The Laboratory, Back To The Labyrinth

BoAML | The ECB has closed many doors in December. The 2015-16 strategy of monetary policy covering for fiscal loosening to facilitate structural reform has changed.We are back to national governments having to navigate through strained fiscal trajectories, leaving very little room for mistakes. Potential growth prospects are not great, not only in the periphery.

In Europe 19th November 2014

The EU is a union of rules, not a union of force

The European Union (EU) is a group of sovereign states, who are sovereign in that they are entirely free to leave the EU. This freedom to leave means the EU is not a “super state.” There is no coercive force — and no EU army — to make Britain or any other country remain in the union. Britain enjoys a freedom, within the EU, that colonies did not enjoy within the British or other European empires. Britain is, therefore, entirely within its rights in considering the option of leaving the EU, although that does not mean such a course would be wise.