MNI BRIEF: EC Dombrovskis Comes Out Against 1/20 Debt Cut Rule

EU Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis on Wednesday came out against re-imposing the 1/20th EU debt-reduction rule once the EU's fiscal rules come back into force in 2023.

"We need to ensure debt-reduction pathways which are realistic and credible. We are looking at the 1/20 debt rule. This maybe a very challenging requirement and may be detrimental to growth if we apply this mechanically," the commissioner said.

The rule required high-debt states to reduce the excess of their public debt over the 60% of GDP benchmark by 1/20 a year. The rule is being examined by EU member states in light of the high level of public debt in many states post pandemic, as part of the EU's review of its economic governance.