Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash
EU Institutions have reached a final agreement on the reform of the Economic Governance Framework.
On Saturday, the EU Commission said it welcomed the deal between the European Parliament and the Council on what it calls “the most ambitious and comprehensive reform of the EU’s economic governance framework since the aftermath of the economic and financial crisis.”
The Commission first presented its reform proposals in April 2023.
The main objectives of the framework are to strengthen Member States’ debt sustainability and promote sustainable and inclusive growth in all Member States through growth-enhancing reforms and priority investments.
The framework will, according to the EC,l help make the EU more competitive and better prepared for future challenges by supporting progress towards a green, digital, inclusive and resilient economy.
The European Parliament and the Council will now have to formally adopt the political agreement.
However, some MEPs are not happy with the deal.
Portuguese member Jose Gusmao told this site: “The European institutions are once again showing their disconnect with social reality.”
“The Council’s proposal was dominated by Germany’s obsession with punishing indebted countries. As expected, the weak mandate from the EP completely failed to oppose it. The trialogue negotiations resulted in stricter deficit rules, a more restrictive control on member states’ public expenditure, and zero safeguards for public investment. Austerity is back, and we know who signed the deal.“
The Left Group MEP said: “The frugal countries have influenced the entire process from the beginning, including the Commission’s own proposal. During the trialogue negotiations, the pressure from these countries has become even more evident, particularly Germany’s numerical safeguards on yearly reductions for the public debt ratio and government deficit.”
“The Council has blocked all attempts at compromise with the European Parliament until the last minute, in order to force a “take it or leave it” agreement.”
The MEP added, “Due to the alignment between the S&D and right-wing groups, the mandate from the European Parliament lacked the ambition to challenge such a frugal Council. This perpetuates the overall problematic design where democracy and public services are completely disregarded.”
