MNI BRIEF: EU Gentiloni: Need To Fund Strategic Autonomy

The need to fund an increased global role for the EU and the growing consensus on the need for a stronger state role in the economy are building the case for a loosening of the EU’s fiscal rules to facilitate increased public investment and more gradual reduction of government debt, Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said Tuesday.

Speaking at Bocconi University in Milan, Gentiloni said that the discussion on fiscal rules would enter “its decisive phase” in coming months and that the Commission would likely present its proposals in the late Spring, with EU leaders holding a special summit, focusing on a new growth model for Europe, in March.