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French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi at a meeting in Rome in late November
Photo: REMO CASILLI / REUTERS
French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi have jointly called on the EU states to reform the European budget rules.
This should enable higher investment spending, according to a jointly published article on the website of the Financial Times (subject to a charge).
At the same time, both recognized the need to reduce national debt.
"Just as these rules have not slowed our response to the pandemic, they must not prevent us from making all the necessary investments," the article says.
On December 9th, Macron declared a revision of the so-called Maastricht criteria to be a priority of the French EU Council Presidency, which starts in January.
The EU requirements for the state budget have so far been defined in the Maastricht Treaty of 1992.
Accordingly, the new indebtedness of the member states may not amount to more than three percent and the total debt burden to no more than 60 percent of economic output.
"There is no question that we have to reduce our debt level"
The appeal of the two politicians is directed at the EU states that insist on complying with the EU rules on national debt.
The new Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is also reserved about a reform of the rules.
During a visit to Rome on Monday, Scholz declared that the existing rules within the European Union were "a good basis", the Stability Pact, for example, had "shown a lot of flexibility in the past."
Macron and Draghi have now said that there is "no question that we need to reduce our debt levels, but we cannot hope to achieve that goal through tax hikes or intolerable cuts in social spending, nor can we stifle growth through unprofitable fiscal adjustments." .
What is necessary is "greater room for maneuver" in order to be able to realize the necessary key expenditures that are important for the future and to secure sovereignty.
"Budget rules should favor debt that is put on to finance investments that are undoubtedly beneficial to future generations and long-term growth."
According to the Elysée Palace in Paris, Macron is counting on an informal EU summit to provide “quantified estimates of necessary investments”.
The rules would have to develop accordingly, "including competition and trade rules as well as European budget rules", which "have to be adapted to the challenges of the time".
mrc / AFP