Lemmer calls EU rules on Member States’ public debt “obsolete”

French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Lemerre on Sunday described the rules on public debt of European Union member states as “outdated”.

The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) “is not obsolete in its entirety, but the rule for public debt is,” he said in an interview a few weeks after France took over the rotating presidency of the European Union on January 1st. Council.

Under this rule, the public debt of the Member States must not exceed 60% of their GDP and their deficit cannot exceed 3% of their GDP.

“Before the crisis, there was a gap of almost 40 points of GDP between the most and least indebted member states of the eurozone. Now, this gap between them is over 100%,” said Bruno Lemmer.

“There are different proposals on the table for the reform of the SGP, especially to have different schedules and different goals for each country,” the minister noted.

There is also the proposal to leave “the Member States to set the stages and the necessary reforms in their economic policies so that they can return to sound fiscal”, something “interesting” for Mr. Lemmer.

Finally, we must “find the right balance between the necessary investments to meet the challenges of the 21st century and the need to return to sound fiscal,” he said.

In an interview with seven European newspapers, including the French Les Echos, the French Minister of Economy and Finance expressed the hope that “all restrictive measures” related to the new coronavirus pandemic would be lifted before the end of 2022. .

With the spread of the most contagious Omicron variant in France, the government of President Emanuel Macron has decided to reintroduce stricter public health measures, mainly by limiting the number of participants to large public rallies and encouraging televisions for at least three days. the week.

SOURCE: AMPE