The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs failed on Tuesday 27 November to adopt a clear position on the proposal for a directive to incorporate into European Union law the Budget Pact included in the Treaty on Stability, Growth and Governance (TSCG), which the European Commission had presented at the end of 2017 (see EUROPE 11920).
The draft report by Danuta Hübner (EPP, Poland) mobilised as many Members in favour - the EPP, ECR and ALDE groups - as opposed Members from the S&D, GUE/NGL and Greens/EFA groups (25 votes in favour, 25 against).
To the left of the political spectrum, satisfaction was in order. For the GUE/NGL groups, the parliamentary committee clearly rejected a proposal that undermines national sovereignty and is intended to incorporate into EU law the "straitjacket of economic austerity".
While public investment must be promoted to combat climate change and support social infrastructure, "this directive proposal was simply unacceptable", said Belgian Greens/EFA Group Co-President Philippe Lamberts. "Even without it, deficits in the euro area have been reduced in recent years," he also argued.
Even if it is only consulted, the European Parliament is required to adopt an opinion on this matter. On Tuesday morning, some observers considered that the perfect equality observed during the vote was worth rejecting the proposal.
However, after intense discussions between legal experts, it would seem that it will be up to a forthcoming plenary session of the European Parliament to decide this issue. At this point, no date has been set. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)