- Fiscal rules: Commission provides limited support to Berlin
- Parliament pension fund runs out of money
- Ambassador to France causes outrage with remark on former Soviet states
- Clauß remains German EU Ambassador
- Commission presents 11th sanctions package against Russia
- Poland: ECO halves daily penalty payments
- Borrell calls for EU military presence in Taiwan Strait
- Brazil hopes to conclude Mercosur agreement this year
- Parliament to resolve competence disputes more quickly
- New regulations for crooked cucumbers
- Opinion by André Loesekrug-Pietri on the Net-Zero Industrial Act
Recently, Germany has repeatedly attracted attention in Europe for either failing to take a clear stand or for only making a statement when it is actually already too late. This has caused a lot of trouble in Brussels. On the other hand, Germany’s position on the Stability and Growth Pact has always been quite clear. But that does not mean that everyone else follows suit. The German government has intervened once again because it feels that Germany’s positions have not been sufficiently taken into account, analyzes my colleague Till Hoppe.
An EU pension system that was supposed to cover parliamentarians who did not receive pensions from their national states until a reform of the parliamentary statute is proving to be less than reliable. The EU had set up a pension fund for this purpose, which is now running out of money, as Markus Grabitz reports.
However, Germany has always been able to rely on its Permanent Representative in Brussels. And will continue to do so. EU Ambassador Michael Clauß will remain in office for another year, as the Foreign Office has confirmed to Table.Media.
Have a good start to the week,
Corinna Visser
Feature
Fiscal rules: Commission provides limited support to Berlin
The EU Commission appears to be prepared to make some concessions to the German government on the planned reform of EU fiscal rules. The Brussels authority is discussing flanking its own approach of individually negotiated debt reduction paths with the member states with uniform benchmarks, as Berlin demanded. However, Brussels says that this must take into account that there is a majority in the Council in favor of the Commission’s approach.
Previously, the German government had intervened at a high political level in Brussels. A draft of the new rules circulated by the Commission had not taken sufficient account of German positions, according to government circles in Berlin.
Commission wants new approach
The Commission wants to replace the uniform rules of the Stability and Growth Pact with a new framework that takes greater account of the different circumstances in the individual countries. For example, the authority wants to prepare a long-term debt carrying-capacity analysis in each case and negotiate debt reduction with the individual government on that basis.
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