MNI BRIEF: June Start For Excess Deficit Process - Brussels

The EU’s Excessive Deficit Process will be launched by the Commission in June regardless of whether the EU’s new fiscal rules have been agreed by then or not, two EU commissioners said Thursday.

Paolo Gentiloni told the EU Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee that it was likely eight or nine EU countries could face EDPs, given that the new rules introduced only “very small changes” to the EU’s fiscal enforcement procedures, while Valdis Dombrovskis said that the new rules -- if agreed by the Parliament, EU Commission and Council in the next months could start as soon as the second half of 2024 with the Commission’s review of states’ 2025 budget plans.

Dombrovskis told the committee that the timetable for agreement remained “quite challenging” (MNI: EU's Likely New Fiscal Deal Sounds Tough, Details Lacking)