PM Unconvinced On Commission Proposals For EU Budget Rule Changes

Wires carrying comments from Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, states that "I am not very convinced by the European Commission's proposals to change EU budget rules." Expectations around the prospect of agreement being reached within the EU in 2023 were already low, even before the snap general election in Spain that risks a change in focus from Madrid during its presidency of the Council of the European Union in H223.

• The Commission proposals released in March were billed as being more flexible than the pre-pandemic rules, with EU Observer reporting that "The big difference is that debt reduction will now be made "country-specific" and allow for more flexibility. Finance ministers want to ditch the one-size-fits-all rule, requiring all debt above 60 percent of GDP to be reduced by five-percent annually. Instead, countries and the EU Commission will negotiate a debt-reduction plan based on the economic situation, which should also cover "reforms and investment."
• Following a meeting between Meloni and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier this week, Decode 39 reports that "The two leaders underscored they both agreed that the old EU Fiscal Pact is “outdated” and that “the new [rules] must take into account the competitiveness of our systems.” Specifically, PM Meloni emphasised the urgency of a new Pact centred on support and growth “because European competitiveness needs to be supported by vision and appropriate rules” – which warrant fiscal rules “that ensure flexibility.”