| Author (Person) | Dermine, Paul, Fromage, Diane |
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| Series Title | EU Law Analysis |
| Series Details | 29.11.17 |
| Publication Date | 29/11/2017 |
| Content Type | Journal | Series | Blog |
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Background The European Fiscal Board (EFB) is an independent advisory body of the European Commission. The Board was set up following the Five Presidents' Report 'Completing Europe's Economic and Monetary Union' of October 2015, with the aim to strengthen the current economic governance framework of the eurozone. The main responsibilities of EFB are + provide to the Commission an evaluation of the implementation of the Union fiscal framework and the appropriateness of the actual fiscal stance at euro area and national level On 15 November 2017, the European Fiscal Board (EFB) published its first annual report. The report reviewed the way the EU fiscal framework has been implemented, highlighting imperfections and scope for improvement. At the same time it concluded that the framework contributed to the stability of the euro area. In exceptional times when risks to the sustainability of public finances in several euro area Member States were coupled with risks of deflation, the short-run response to explore the flexibility of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) made sense though it raised concerns about the integrity of the fiscal framework. Looking ahead, the challenge will be to adapt the fiscal framework to the return of normal and good economic times, while building the buffers necessary to withstand future crises. The EFB's first report provides a comprehensive and independent assessment of how the SGP has been applied in the recent past. The focus is on the last complete surveillance cycle, 2016. The assessment shows how sizable compliance gaps in budgetary plans of euro area countries had largely disappeared ex post, as Member States benefited from existing degrees of discretion and greater flexibility under the SGP. Although nominal GDP growth had largely come in as expected or even lower, only few euro area countries were found to significantly deviate from the required fiscal adjustment. Those who did deviate were granted additional time and sanctions were cancelled. The crisis precipitated a substantial upgrade of the rules making up the European fiscal discipline, and an unprecedented strengthening of the surveillance paradigm in the field of budgetary affairs. Since it entered into force, this new normative catalogue introduced mainly by the Six-Pack and the Two-Pack reforms, as well as its main enforcer, i.e. the European Commission, have attracted a great deal of criticism (from the European Central Bank (ECB), the International Monetary Fund and some Member States). The latest blow has come from the newly established European Fiscal Board (EFB), which issued its first annual report in November 2017. The EFB presented a mixed picture of the current regulatory framework, and the Commission’s action as its guardian. It focused on three issues: an evaluation of the implementation of the EU's fiscal framework, a review and assessment of the fiscal stance for the euro area as a whole, and the identification of best practices in the functioning of national fiscal councils. It concluded with some suggestions on the future evolution of the EU’s fiscal framework. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/the-european-fiscal-boards-first-report.html |
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| Subject Categories | Economic and Financial Affairs |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
