EU requirements for national budgetary frameworks: need to further strengthen them and to better monitor their application

Summary:

This report assesses whether the Commission’s post-crisis action to strengthen the EU Member States’ budgetary frameworks achieved the intended results. The EU’s legislative action provided impetus; however, the legal framework leaves room for improvement and the Commission has so far only limited assurance that Member States properly apply the EU requirements. Besides, there is a risk of divergences between the Commission’s and the Independent Fiscal Institutions’ assessment of compliance of national annual and medium-term fiscal plans with EU fiscal rules, which could reduce the effectiveness of the EU fiscal framework. Finally, the effectiveness of the European Fiscal Board is limited by its current institutional set-up and the fact that the Commission can ignore its advice without providing appropriate explanation.

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