Joint statement
In a joint letter to the European Council signed by more 60 civil Society organisations, trade unions, think tanks and academics, the Fiscal Matters coalition, of which Finance Watch is a member, reiterates that unnecessary fiscal consolidation will exacerbate economic, environmental and social woes – which will also jeopardise debt sustainability – and calls for new priorities to be at the core of the next strategic agenda of the European Union.
In a letter addressed to the President and Members of the European Council, the Fiscal Matter coalition voices deep concern regarding the potential return of overly restrictive fiscal policies in the EU. The letter highlights that arbitrary numerical benchmarks will lead to dangerous cuts in public budgets across Europe, including green investments and social spending. Unnecessary fiscal consolidation will exacerbate Europe’s economic, environmental, and social woes, hindering the achievement of common political objectives on climate action, economic convergence and strategic sovereignty.
Instead, the coalition calls for a post-2026 long-term green and social investment fund, alongside progressive taxation measures to ensure a fast and fair transition towards a sustainable economy. Building upon the success of the EU Recovery Fund, the letter puts forward measures that would improve EU public finances and deliver better public services, protect European citizens against environmental, geopolitical and economic risks and carry out the deep transformation towards an economy that fits within planetary boundaries. It also recommends adding conditionality to public subsidies, improving EU economic governance and taking a particular attention to social wellbeing in the transition and to redistributive effects of climate policies.
