The Stability and Growth Pact’s “Unusual Events” Clause and the Funding of the Refugee Crisis in the European Union

Abstract

ABSTRACT The European Union (EU) has been tested by three great external events, the Syrian refugee crisis, the Coronavirus, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Each of these events challenges the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) that sanctions member states incurring excessive budgetary deficits. This research focuses on the application of these rules to the refugee crisis that generated a dramatic and unpredicted surge in migrants and refugees who crossed into and applied for asylum in Europe. What was critical for the member states was how they could respond to the SGP to fund the cost of aiding and housing these immigrants. These rules were later applied in 2020 and 2022 to the budgetary costs incurred by the Coronavirus and the invasion of Ukraine.