The European Union is looking into reforming its economic governance. This will determine the European rules on spending and debt for Member States and the procedures it uses for when these rules are broken.
As a result of the pandemic, the usual rules are currently not being enforced. The European Commission introduced a “recovery and resilience facility”, to deal with the economic damage from the pandemic and invest into climate and digital transformation.
These extraordinary measures show us that the usual rules are no longer fit for purpose. We need new rules for a new world that better respond to the issues facing us now and in years to come.
Our activity to date
Fiscal Matters has actively shaped the debate on European fiscal policy since its inception in late 2020.
- February 2021: A +170 signatures strong open letter sent to European Union leaders asking them to review EU economic governance. Signatories include civil society leaders, trade unions and economists. Read more
- June 2021: A +140 signatures strong open letter to stop the fetishisation of deficits, published in the Financial Times. Signatories include economists like Adam Tooze, Stephanie Kelton, Daniela Gabor and more. Read more
- September 2021: Joseph Stiglitz: Europe should not return to pre-pandemic fiscal rules, Financial Times. Read more
- September 2021: Benoit Lallemand: Angela Merkel’s departure is an opportunity to fix the EU, Open Democracy. Read more
- September 2021: A +300 signatures strong French open letter calling on the upcoming French EU presidency to overhaul the European fiscal rules and replace the Stability and Growth with a Resilience and Solidarity Pact. Signatories include European Parliamentarians, Trade Unionists, CSO executives, economists and social scientists. Read more
- September 2021: A Fiscal Matters week of debates on EU fiscal policy, with 22 online events attracting over 800 participants. High profile speakers included Joseph Stiglitz, Marianna Mazzucato, Paschal Donohoe, Marco Buti and more. Read more
Example of banner for our #Fiscalmatters week of debate in September 2021
