Spend as much as you like. This is not a message that we often hear in Brussels, whose reprimands are especially withheld from over-spending governments. But facing the coronavirus, the European Commission is ready to let go of the ballast and promises " maximum flexibility" in the application of the deficit and state aid rules. " The Member States must be encouraged to take all the necessary measures ," insists Ursula von der Leyen.
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The idea of providing room for maneuver had been around for several days, but Thursday's stock market shock and the prospect of a recession seem to have dispelled any hesitation. To the point of erasing the rigor of the Stability and Growth Pact, and allowing slippages in public deficits beyond the limit of 3% of GDP. The Commission proposes that all expenditure taken to combat the coronavirus be excluded from the calculation of excessive deficits. This possibility, provided for in the Treaties in the event of an " event
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