Fiscal Policy and Macroeconomic Stabilisation in the Euro Area: Possible Reforms of the Stability and Growth Pact and National Decision-Making Processes

Abstract

The recent economic-policy debate in the EU has largely focused on fiscal policy and the Stability and Growth Pact. The reason is the current budgetary problems of some member states. Portugal breached the three-per cent-of-GDP deficit ceiling in 2001 and 2002. Germany breached it in 2002, and may also do so in 2003. France and Italy have abandoned their commitments to earlier agreed budget objectives and there is a clear threat that they may violate the deficit ceiling, too. These events have contributed to a revival of the debate on the fiscal policy framework in the EU. The European Commission has recently proposed a number of changes in the Stability and Growth Pact (European Commission 2002b). There have also been calls for more fundamental revisions of the EU fiscal policy framework including proposals to scrap the Stability and Growth Pact altogether (see, for example, Financial Times 2002a, b, c; The Economist 2002; De Grauwe 2002; or Walton 2002).