Please try another search
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Spain's Economy Minister Nadia Calvino speaks as she arrives for a Euro zone finance ministers meeting in Luxembourg, October 4, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman
MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino suggested on Monday that each EU member state should play a leading role in setting its own fiscal targets instead of having common goals defined by the bloc's rules.
EU countries are currently discussing a change to the fiscal rules, officially called the Stability and Growth Pact, that limit government borrowing to protect the value of the common euro currency - shared by 19 states.
The rules have been suspended since 2020 to give governments leeway to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
With growth now back on track, the rules were to be reinstated from the start of 2023. The discussion focuses on the need to acknowledge the EU's new economic realities - the high post-pandemic public debt, wide deficits and the need for huge public investment to fight climate change.
"For the future, member states must play a leading role in setting their own fiscal targets," Calvino told an event in Madrid she was attending alongside her Irish counterpart and the chairman of euro zone finance ministers, Paschal Donohoe.
The issue is politically divisive as EU countries with more fiscal discipline are wary of their more profligate partners and EU officials said last week that talks were likely to last well into next year, leaving the bloc in a quandary over a framework for 2023 to cautiously reduce spending.
Donohoe, who told a news conference that Spain's view on the future of the fiscal rules was well known across the bloc and that he was confident of an eventual agreement, said the plan for 2023 was a more pressing matter in the coming weeks.
"That work is already under way and I am confident as we move into March that we will have guidance in place for how we can have the right bugetary policies (for 2023) to continue to support a recovery in Europe," he said.
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.