BRDO, Slovenia (Reuters) – European Union finance ministers stressed on Friday that any changes to EU budget rules, now under review, should support continued investment in the post-pandemic economy.
EU budget rules, which set limits on government borrowing to protect the value of the euro, are now suspended until the end of next year to give EU countries leeway in fighting the economic slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Some officials propose that once the rules are reinstated in 2023, they should allow for continued large government investment, especially in fighting climate change.
They argue the rules should also set new ways for debt reduction as current ones are far too ambitious to comply with for countries whose debt has ballooned well over 100% of GDP.
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski and Michael Nienaber)
