https://sputnikglobe.com/20231122/economic-impunity-france-set-to-break-eu-spending-rules-with-new-budget-1115130027.html
Economic Impunity? France Set to Break EU Spending Rules With New Budget
Economic Impunity? France Set to Break EU Spending Rules With New Budget
Sputnik International
France is a founding member of the European Union's predecessors in the 1950s and 60s, and one of its two dominant economies after Germany. But does that allow Paris to flout Brussels' financial rules?
2023-11-22T14:57+0000
2023-11-22T14:57+0000
2023-11-22T14:57+0000
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The European Union (EU) has told France to bring its budget into line with the bloc's spending limits — a demand Paris is likely to ignore.France is one of four member states which have been warned by the European Commission, the bloc's unelected executive, as it reimposes spending caps that were waived during the COVID-19 pandemic.Cautions have also been issued to Croatia, Finland and Belgium — ironically home to the EU's seat of power in Brussels, along with NATO headquarters.French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said his 2024 budget would end the "whatever it takes" approach of the last three years, shutting down the last of the special measures.An anonymous official in the French Ministry of Economics and Finance dismissed talk of a looming row with Brussels.France has previously been allowed to flout the EU's deficit regulation, thanks to its status as one of the organizations two dominant states. Former commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, previously prime minster of Luxembourg, said in 2016 that the country would not be punished for breaking the rules simply "because it is France."The Commission suspended the Stability and Growth Pact for four years as the bloc's 27 members adopted extraordinary measures in the face of the pandemic, including compensation to businesses forced to close during the series of lockdowns and payments to laid-off workers.That upheaval dovetailed with the energy and inflationary crises, prompted by the EU's sanctions and embargoes on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine.But now the commission could return to disciplining members who exceed budget limits with its Excess Deficit Procedure, which could lead to financial sanctions.Other nations deemed "not fully in line" with Brussels' rules include several EU founding members: industrial giant Germany — the bloc's dominant economy — Italy, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Other offenders are Austria, Portugal, the Mediterranean island of Malta, the Slovak Republic and former Soviet republic Latvia.The European Commission has 27 members, one appointed by each of the EU's member states for five-year terms, who take on roles analogous to government ministers. However, the commissioners are not answerable to their home countries and cannot be recalled and replaced following a change of government.The commission wide-ranging powers, including the exclusive right to draft legislation for the approval of the European Parliament, which cannot initiate new bills autonomously.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231121/fiscal-reckoning-france-braces-for-eu-2024-budget-assessment-spotlight-1115104517.html
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european commission, european union fiscal budget rules, covid-19 pandemic lockdowns and economic measures.
european commission, european union fiscal budget rules, covid-19 pandemic lockdowns and economic measures.
Economic Impunity? France Set to Break EU Spending Rules With New Budget
France is a founding member of the European Union's predecessors in the 1950s and 60s, and one of its two dominant economies after Germany. But does that allow Paris to flout Brussels' financial rules?
The European Union (EU) has told France to bring its budget into line with the bloc's spending limits — a demand Paris is likely to ignore.
France is one of four member states which have been warned by the European Commission, the bloc's unelected executive, as it reimposes spending caps that were waived during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"France’s draft budgetary plan risks not being in line," Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told media in Strasbourg.
Cautions have also been issued to Croatia, Finland and Belgium — ironically home to the EU's seat of power in Brussels, along with NATO headquarters.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said his 2024 budget would end the "whatever it takes" approach of the last three years, shutting down the last of the special measures.
An anonymous official in the French Ministry of Economics and Finance dismissed talk of a looming row with Brussels.
"We won't have to take any adjustment measure on this evolution of primary net spending," the official said, insisting that the difference between the French budget and the Commission's cap was "very small."
France has previously been allowed to flout the EU's deficit regulation, thanks to its status as one of the organizations two dominant states. Former commission president
Jean-Claude Juncker, previously prime minster of Luxembourg, said in 2016 that the country
would not be punished for breaking the rules
simply "because it is France."
21 November 2023, 18:26 GMT
The Commission suspended the Stability and Growth Pact for four years as the bloc's 27 members adopted extraordinary measures in the face of the pandemic, including compensation to businesses forced to close during the series of lockdowns and payments to laid-off workers.
That upheaval dovetailed with the energy and inflationary crises, prompted by the EU's sanctions and embargoes on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine.
But now the commission could return to disciplining members who exceed budget limits with its Excess Deficit Procedure, which could lead to financial sanctions.
Other nations deemed "not fully in line" with Brussels' rules include several EU founding members: industrial giant
Germany — the bloc's dominant economy — Italy, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Other offenders are Austria, Portugal, the Mediterranean island of Malta, the Slovak Republic and former Soviet republic Latvia.
The European Commission has 27 members, one appointed by each of the EU's member states for five-year terms, who take on roles analogous to government ministers. However, the commissioners are not answerable to their home countries and cannot be recalled and replaced following a change of government.
The commission wide-ranging powers, including the exclusive right to draft legislation for the approval of the European Parliament, which cannot initiate new bills autonomously.
