Design and Implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact: The Perspective of New Member States

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Coricelli
Keyword(s):  
Stability And Growth Pact ◽  
Member States ◽  
New Member States ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Growth Pact ◽  
The Stability

scholarly journals La crisis financiera como oportunidad político-constitucional : el nuevo freno al endeudamiento en la Constitución Alemana

2011 ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Ekkehart Reimer
Keyword(s):  
High Price ◽  
Stability And Growth Pact ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Member States ◽  
Federal Level ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Growth Pact ◽  
Deficit Spending ◽  
The Stability

In course of the financial crisis, States have proven to be strong actors. However, they have paid a high price for the demonstration of their power-skyrocketing budgetary deficits as well as an alarming increase of overall public debts. With regard to EU Member States, it is true that EU law has mitigated tendencies towards deficit-spending to a considerable degree and that these merits are due to State Aid rules (Arts. 87 et seq. EC Treaty, now Arts. 107 et seq. TFEU) rather than to the Stability and Growth Pact. Many Member States, however, regard an autonomous reduction of deficits as indispensable and take constitutional measures to restrict their annual deficits and/or overall debts. The article analyses the amendments to the German Grundgesetz as well as accompagnying legislation which have been enacted by the Bundestag and Bundesrat in July 2009 as a „Föderalismusreform II“, a major reconfiguration of the legal rules on public deficits on both the federal level and the level of the 16 Länder (states), and provides an outlook on further steps to be taken in the future.En la crisis financiera los Estados se han mostrado como agentes poderosos. Ahora bien, han pagado un precio muy elevado por esta demostración de su capacidad de acción: un aumento vertiginoso de su nuevo endeudamiento neto y un incremento preocupante de la deuda acumulada. Dentro de la Unión Europea, si bien el Derecho de la Unión ha suavizado en considerable medida la tendencia de los Estados a financiarse mediante déficit, esto se ha debido más a una inteligente aplicación de las normas en materia de ayudas estatales [arts. 87 y 88 del Tratado de la Comunidad Europea (antigua versión), actualmente arts. 107 y 108 del Tratado de Funcionamiento de la Unión Europea] y menos al Pacto de Estabilidad y Crecimiento. No obstante, muchos Estados miembros consideran a la vez indispensable una reducción autónoma del déficit, y están adoptando medidas constitucionales para limitar su nuevo endeudamiento anual y/o su deuda acumulada. El presente trabajo analiza la reforma de la Ley Fundamental alemana y la legislación de acompañamiento que aprobaron el Bundestag y el Bundesrat en julio de 2009 en el marco de la segunda reforma del federalismo (Föderalismusreform II), una reordenación fundamental de la normativa en materia de déficit público, tanto en el ámbito federal como de los dieciséis Estados Federados (Länder), y aporta una visión prospectiva de qué reformas adicionales son necesarias.

Institutionelle Alternativen in der Europäischen Union: Das Beispiel des Stabilitäts- und Wachstumspaktes

2006 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renate Ohr ◽  
André Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Monetary Union ◽  
European Monetary Union ◽  
Allocative Efficiency ◽  
Stability And Growth Pact ◽  
European Monetary ◽  
Fiscal Deficits ◽  
Member States ◽  
Growth Pact ◽  
The Stability

AbstractThe Stability and Growth Pact is one of the constituent pillars of the European Monetary Union. Though, meanwhile it is obvious that it will not be able to limit fiscal deficits of the member states. For this reason in this paper Coase′s thinking in institutional alternatives is applied to find a better way to increase the incentives for more fiscal stability. We present and discuss tradable deficit permits comprising market-orientated incentives for fiscal stability. It is shown that tradable deficit permits are superior from a politico-economical view as well as with regard to allocative efficiency.

Eu Fiscal Governance on The Member States: The Stability and Growth Pact and Beyond

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Paul Keppenne
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Maastricht Treaty ◽  
Stability And Growth Pact ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Core ◽  
Growth Pact ◽  
Fiscal Planning ◽  
The Stability

As explained in the previous chapter, the Maastricht Treaty put in place a mild system of coordination in the area of economic policy, in particular fiscal policy. The Member States keep conducting their fiscal policy, particularly the adoption of budgets and the exercise of taxation power which are at the core of the sovereignty of the states. The Member States thus remain largely sovereign with regard to the conduct of their budgetary policies given that their annual budget, as well as their longer-term fiscal planning are still decided by the national authorities. The Union has no competence to interfere directly in this area acting in place of the national authorities. Notably, no veto right is provided, and the Union could not somehow prevent the adoption of national budgets.

Braucht die EU einen flexibleren Stabilitätspakt?

2004 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Hefeker ◽  
Friedrich Heinemann ◽  
Klaus F. Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Public Awareness ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Fiscal Rules ◽  
External Control ◽  
Public Expenditures ◽  
Stability And Growth Pact ◽  
Consolidation Process ◽  
Growth Pact ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Stability

AbstractIn his contribution Carsten Hefeker points out that most of the official arguments concerning the necessity of the Stability and Growth Pact are not convincing. Nevertheless, a mechanism that credibly avoids excessive debts and deficits is needed in most member states. It would be more useful, however, if such rules would focus on overall debt rather than on deficits. In addition, he advocates to create an external control for such fiscal rules, independent from the Commission and ECOFIN. He concludes that the Pact does not need to become more flexible, but more credible.Friedrich Heinemann states that much of the recent reform debate on the Stability Pact is based on a fundamental misconception: The Pact has not been established as a guiding tool for welfare - maximising politicians, but in order to limit detrimental incentives from fiscal short-sightedness. “Stupid” elements like the three-per-cent deficit ceiling have a clear and beneficial strategic function as boundary within the national budgetary process. Furthermore, simple rules are superior to smart ones in increasing the political costs of high deficits in terms of public awareness. The critique on the pact′s missing flexibility is correct mainly regarding its lose logical link to long-run sustainability. Increasing flexibility in a cyclical sense, however, is not a reform priority. Already today the Pact leaves sufficient leeway for responsible politicians. Instead, the reform focus must be on depoliticising the pact in the sense of limiting Council power in the deficit procedure. More flexibility must not come without depoliticising. He recommends that any reform should only be carried into effect with a significant time lag in order to limit the reputation damage which would be the consequence of any quick institutional response to the Pact′s recent crisis.In his paper Klaus F. Zimmermann argues that the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) has been subject to criticism ever since its inception. He points out that it overlooks business cycle developments within the framework of the consolidation process; it adopts a too short-term view of the stabilisation target which is also hardly under control of policy-makers; and it deals with policy imperfections in a sub-optimal way. Therefore, a reform of the SGP is urgent. The author suggests that the rules must be handled more flexibly. In his opinion, a mediumterm budgetary target and a focus on public expenditures to tackle the pro-cyclical bias is needed. To restore credibility, the task of supervision should be transferred to an independent European institution.

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