Henrike Hahn, Bavarian member of the European Parliament (The Greens/EFA), deputy member of the Economic and Monetary Committee and deputy speaker of the German delegation of the Greens, comments on today's proposal from the European Commission on the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact:

“It is a good thing that the Commission is planning to introduce medium-term and country-specific debt adjustment paths and structural plans. The previous "one-size-fits-all" approach is unrealistic in view of the different budgetary and structural conditions in the member states.

Apparently, in the end the Commission gave in to pressure from some member states and is now presenting a proposal that again contains inflexible requirements for debt reduction. We urgently need to prevent that the reform forces member states into a rigid pro-cyclical fiscal policy, thereby repeating the mistakes of the last ten years.

The planned introduction of multi-annual adjustment plans in line with national legislative periods is correct and will improve transparency and national ownership of budgets.

In terms of public investment, the proposal by the Commission is clearly too weak. Without decisive public investments in the coming years achieving our climate goals will be close to impossible. Therefore, the Commission proposal must now provide clear guidelines, scope and incentives for member states to invest in the green transformation and the fight against climate change.”

 

I would be happy to answer any further questions.