Brussels, 30/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 30 September, the European Commission cast cold water over the hopes the member states that raised the option of easing interpretation of the Stability and Growth Pact rules in the wake of the influx of refugees in the EU.
“We have a Stability & Growth Pact that is flexible enough. All countries must follow principles and rules, it is important to keep public finances in good shape. There are always challenging situations which would trigger the idea we should flexibilise the rules,” said Investment Commissioner Jyrki Katainen.
At the European summit last week, Austria and Italy called for greater flexibility in the interpretation of budget rules due to the extra costs of taking and integrating asylum-seekers (see EUROPE 11396). The Commission was asked by the summit to submit the former's analysis of the issue to the Ecofin Council on Tuesday 6 October. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)