Report: "The European Commission does not attack the sinners of the budget"



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Respect for tax rules often goes wrong in several European member states and each time without consequences. According to the European Court of Auditors, the European Commission must act harder against highly indebted countries

The European Court of Auditors states in a report that it concludes that the EU budgetary agreements concluded in 2011 have too little effect. [19659003] According to these rules, the fiscal deficit of a country can not exceed 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) and the national debt can not exceed 60% of GDP. A problem: budget sinners receive only a warning and therefore ignore the rules.

Criticism of the Commission

There are critics, particularly about the role of the European Commission. "The Commission must ensure that the medium-term objectives are achieved within a reasonable time, with stricter rules for Member States with high debt", is one of the recommendations of the Court.

It also calls for specific country-by-country recommendations "Explicit Requirements" and an explanation of the risks when they are not implemented

Risk of Further Crisis

High Public Debt, for example in Countries like Greece, Italy, Portugal and until recently France, are often bad. economic growth and could eventually lead to a financial crisis. For this reason, agreements were concluded within the EU in the Stability and Growth Pact in 1997, which were further reinforced after the 2011 crisis.

It is the responsibility of the European Commission to correct those Member States that spend too much on structural issues. In addition, since 2011, the Commission has been able to distribute fines. These can represent 0.2% of the GDP of a country – which can certainly reach billions of euros in the big countries.

No Penalty

In 2016, Portugal and Spain appeared to be similarly fined, until they were suspended that same month. According to some, the European Commission has avoided a direct crisis. Critics consider these fines as a means of further disrupting the countries and, moreover, as an incitement to anti-EU sentiments that could lead to the next crisis of the euro.

In addition, it would be measured with several sizes. For example, France is invariably quoted as having a budget deficit in about three quarters of all fiscal years as the "largest" EU country, but never fined.

In this report, the Court of Auditors once again confirms the rules and draws anyway. This was also criticized in April 2016. Since then, little has changed, according to the researchers, who conclude that the objectives of the Stability and Growth Pact are not being achieved.

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