Brussels, 31/08/2011 (Agence Europe) - France has submitted a compromise to the Polish Presidency for the outstanding issues surrounding the legislation to boost economic governance in Europe. On Wednesday 31 August, a diplomat told this newsletter that the proposal was being discussed by the main stakeholders at the Council and European Parliament, and the Polish Presidency is trying to find the magic solution. The source was confident that a solution would soon be found. The day before, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, said that his department had also submitted various draft compromises last month (see EUROPE 10441). The EP says that a vote on the legislation could be held in the second plenary in September, in Brussels.
The reform of the Stability and Growth Pact takes the form of six items of legislation. The MEPs are calling for more automatic penalties, wanting to make it difficult for the member states to wriggle out of European Commission recommendations that a country had not done enough to reduce its public debt and/or deficit. Anxious to keep room for manoeuvre, most member states on the Council of Ministers oppose this, headed by France, although the Franco-German statement in August suggests that it might be flexible. Reform of the SGP should discern and deal at an early stage with any slippage from the targets that have been set and the preventative policy should be the cornerstone of eurozone stability in the medium to long-term, explains the statement. (M.B./transl.fl)