- Commission to present new debt rules soon
- Sustainable Finance Research Platform: end of a turbulent mandate
- Temporary Crisis Framework: Commission allows higher subsidies
- Borrell condemns grain blockade
- Gas package: Parliament to adopt position in 2023
- COP27: Island states criticize EU negotiating mandate
- Heads: Martin Schirdewan – representing the Left in Berlin and Brussels
Reducing debt while simultaneously boosting investment is the feat that must be achieved in reforming the European debt rules. On Nov. 9, the Commission plans to present its proposal for reforming the Stability and Growth Pact. Christof Roche has found out what rules are up for discussion.
Today marks the end of the Platform on Sustainable Finance‘s mandate for the time being. Leonie Düngefeld looks back on the exciting work of the members and explains how things will – or will not – continue next year.
Also on today’s agenda: The German government’s Expert Commission for Heating and Gas will present its final relief concept. However, the cabinet will not be able to fully follow the approach taken in the interim report. For large industrial companies, it must take into account the new Temporary Crisis Framework adopted by the EU Commission on Friday. Read where Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager sets stricter requirements in the News.
Control is one of Martin Schirdewan‘s central topics. The European parliamentarian is co-chairman of the German Left Party and thus plays a rare dual role between Brussels and Berlin. Read today’s Profile to find out what other positions he advocates.
Manuel Berkel
Feature
Commission to present new debt rules soon
The Brussels authority intends to present its communication on the reform of fiscal rules on Nov. 9. Currently, the documents are being coordinated internally, as Europe.Table has learned from Commission circles. The circles expressed confidence that a consensus among the member states could be reached quickly. The governments had been closely involved over the past weeks and months. The necessary legislative package to revise the Stability and Growth Pact could then be presented in the first quarter of 2023. A first discussion in the circle of EU finance ministers is already planned for the December Ecofin, it said.
EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni had most recently underlined the need for revised budget rules at an event in Rome on Oct. 10. He said Europe was facing a challenging winter “as the Russian war continues, energy prices remain very high and inflation is reaching new records”. In addition, the pandemic has left public and private debt significantly higher, he said. The need to rebuild fiscal buffers is clear, he said. However, debt reduction strategies must be realistic if they are supposed to ensure stability and support growth.
“We have two mountains in front of us, a mountain of debt and a mountain of investment, and how we reconcile them is a key challenge we face in reforming our rules,” the EU commissioner said. Authority sources said the basic idea is to simplify the EU’s extremely complex budget rules while tightening enforcement.
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