Top Stories

fiscal policy

1.pensions adorable

In Spain 29th April 2026

Social Security pension spending in Spain rises 6% to €14.336 billion in April

CdM | The Social Security system allocated €14,336.2 million to pension payments in April, representing a 6% increase on the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration. In total, 10,476,332 pensions were paid to around 9.5 million people in the fourth month of 2026. Of these, 6.7 million were retirement pensions, 2.3 million were widow’s pensions, 1.1 million were permanent disability pensions, 336,141…

Montero

In Spain 6th March 2026

AIReF’s swansong: demanding adjustments as public debt—at 100% of GDP—grows at 4.8% annually, doubling GDP growth of 2.8%

The newspaper El Mundo explains that “the PSOE is silencing the head of the Fiscal Authority and preventing her from criticizing in Parliament the lack of Budgets amidst the Iran crisis and the pact with Junqueras.” This is because, according to what Cristina Herrero—who until the 4th of this month presided over the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF)—explained to them, she requested weeks ago to meet with the First…

francia asamblea nacional

In Europe 2nd December 2024

French PM Michel Barnier abandons plans to increase electricity taxes in 2025 budgets

BancaMarch: Michel Barnier, Prime Minister of France, is abandoning plans to increase electricity taxes in the 2025 budget. This decision, which would be a concession to the demands of Le Pen’s party, is not enough. The Rassemblement Nationale has the bargaining power to make the government meet its demands, since its vote would be decisive in the event of a no-confidence motion. Yesterday Barnier struck an appeasing tone, declaring that…

money1

World economy 9th February 2023

Expectations about role of the State may be frustrated by declining spending and decreasing government effectiveness

Agnieszka Gehringer (Flossbach von Storch Research Institute) | Governments are increasingly being given new tasks to achieve various economic policy objectives. Looking at the major eurozone members, this report shows that high expectations about the role of the state in solving the most pressing problems may be frustrated by declining productivity of public spending and decreasing government effectiveness. Public spending in the four large euro area Member States, Germany, France,…

Spanish España.

Spanish economy 23rd September 2022

A Decade Of Fiscal Folly

Fernando González Urbaneja | Both the current and the previous government (Rajoy and Sánchez or Montoro and Montero) have earned a page in Spanish fiscal history with the qualification of a confusing, witty and improvisational period. Both governments commissioned reports from groups of experts for a major tax reform. And both reports, of unquestionable technical quality and with interesting proposals, were buried in the drawer of documents to be forgotten….

Ursula

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 union flag

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 fiscal stimuli

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…

US against Europe

European economy 25th February 2021

Between Europe And US…Clearly Europe

Morgan Stanley | The size of the Recovery Fund is very relevant, equivalent to 5% of the European Union’s GDP (10-15% in Greece, Spain and Italy). In contrast to the US, where the fiscal stimulus has been earmarked for more immediate/current spending, in Europe most of it is devoted to future investment with a long-lasting effect over the next 3-5 years. This long term duration is the key concept and the fundamental reason for our preference.