What would they have done about this “new fiscal compact” agreed at the recent European Council:
- General government budgets shall be balanced or in surplus; this principle shall be deemed respected if, as a rule, the annual structural deficit does not exceed 0.5% of nominal GDP.
- Such a rule will also be introduced in Member States’ national legal systems at constitutional or equivalent level. The rule will contain an automatic correction mechanism that shall be triggered in the event of deviation. It will be defined by each Member State on the basis of principles proposed by the Commission. We recognise the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice to verify the transposition of this rule at national level.
- Member States shall converge towards their specific reference level, according to a calendar proposed by the Commission.
- Member States in Excessive Deficit Procedure shall submit to the Commission and the Council for endorsement, an economic partnership programme detailing the necessary structural reforms to ensure an effectively durable correction of excessive deficits. The implementation of the programme, and the yearly budgetary plans consistent with it, will be monitored by the Commission and the Council.
- A mechanism will be put in place for the ex ante reporting by Member States of their national debt issuance plans.
The requirement that government budgets shall be balanced or in surplus is eminently sensible, but by when would the PM’s critics have achieved it? Given that measure is combined with further surrenders of sovereignty to the Commission, no wonder the EU attracts criticism from both Left and Right.
The PM made a good decision, but far more remains to be done if we are to achieve lasting prosperity and bring European political power under democratic control, perhaps by excluding it from this country.
The PM made a good decision, but far more remains to be done if we are to achieve lasting prosperity and bring European political power under democratic control, perhaps by excluding it from this country…………absolutely agree Steve, the general feeling amongst the electorate is that we have ceded far too much to Europe, we originally joined the ” Common Market “, not a federal state.
I had an interesting conversation with an ex pat friend of mine who has lived in Spain for over 25 years, and who tells me that the ordinary Spanish citizen is no fan of the Euro currency , and yearn for a return to the Peseta.
I also think that Nick Clegg has done both himself and the Lib Dems no favours whatsoever, a snap election tomorrow would probably see the Tories with an absolute majority.
Thanks Steve, at last someone has told us what was/is proposed. not just “Cameron got it wrong/right” Has anyone said what the debt to GDP ratio is in major EU states at present? When most of us have no idea how many noughts make a billion, trillion or whatever number we now measure deficit in, it would be good to know whether any EU state has possibilty of meeting this 0.5% target in a gazillion years?
Aren’t these points just for the Euro Member States? If so, what has the Prime Minister actually achieved, beyond annoying the other members of the EU and giving his backbenchers an erection?
Those financial requirements were only to be applied to countries in the Euro. They would never have affected the UK in any case.