One of the documents released today explains the reform of the budgetary process, including a greater role for Oireachtas Committees, a year-round budget calendar and multi-year expenditure envelopes. The aim is to ‘outdo’ what is required along these dimensions under the new European-level fiscal governance directive.
Month: December 2011
From the FT’s rolling blog:
- Both Sarkozy and Merkel would prefer treaty change for all 27 European Union members. However, if this cannot be reached, they are happy to move forward with a treaty for the 17 eurozone members alone
- The treaty favoured by Sarkozy and Merkel would include automatic sanctions for countries that breach the rule on deficits below 3 per cent of gross domestic product
- Primary tool for enforcing balanced budgets will be a “golden rule” written into the constitutions of all 17 eurozone member states; to be verified by the European Court of Justice…..
Let’s cast our minds back to, say, October 3rd. 1990. An asymmetric shock (re-unification) struck the unsuspecting Bundesrepublik. The deficit, on the Maastricht definition, stayed below 3% until 1994 and then hit, hmmm, 9.5% of GDP in 1995. Gott in Himmel!
The ECJ then pronounced that Germany was liable for ‘automatic sanctions’ and in 1996 ……
The public spending plan is here.
The details are reported here.
The text is here.