The EU Commission expects the economic situation to return to normal. From 2024, member states that are willing to spend are threatened again with deficit procedures.
Brussels/Vienna. Fiscal virtue is back in vogue in Europe – but not until next year. Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni and Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis stepped in front of the microphones in Brussels on Wednesday to announce their agency’s economic policy guidelines for 2024. The stability pact, which was suspended in the course of the pandemic, should take effect again. “Die Presse” summarizes the most important points.
1) What is the current situation in Europe?
The situation has improved somewhat, but remains challenging: the consequences of the corona pandemic have not yet been overcome and the full impact of the Russian attack on Ukraine is not yet foreseeable. Against this background, the course of economic policy is not easy to plan – as evidenced by yesterday’s revision of the EU growth figures for the final quarter. Eurozone GDP has stagnated instead of growing slightly as forecast. And these forecasts had already been adjusted before that, because in the autumn all observers were still assuming a recession in Europe caused by Russia.