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Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD)
Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa
Rising debts and the necessary expenditure for the reconstruction of the European economy will fuel a debate about easing the debt rules in the EU, at least that is what the Federal Ministry of Finance expects.
According to the »Handelsblatt«, the authority is preparing for corresponding discussions with the other EU countries about a possible reform of the Stability Pact (click here for the report).
In the department of Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) it is emphasized that, although no changes to the rules are required, the current discussion must be dealt with, the newspaper reported on Thursday, citing government circles.
The 60 percent mark is too rigid for critics
To this end, various options for a reform of the EU debt rules would be examined.
One variant is therefore to move away from the rigid maximum value of the debt level, measured as a percentage of gross domestic product.
In future, the amount of interest expenditure could then also play an important role.
Since interest rates have fallen sharply, the states would have greater leverage.
Due to the corona crisis, the stability pact has been suspended for 2020 and 2021.
The EU Commission now recommends doing this in 2022 as well.
It could then be used again in 2023 if the situation improves by then.
EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni recently called for an amendment to the Stability Pact so that the EU states could increase their debt in favor of public investments.
Similar statements were made in France.
"We will probably not get around some kind of renovation of the debt rules, even if that will of course raise many questions," the Handelsblatt quotes Scholz consultant Jakob von Weizsäcker.
The Maastricht criteria so far stipulate an annual budget deficit of a maximum of three percent for EU countries.
The total debt level should be below 60 percent of the gross domestic product.
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beb / Reuters