On Monday 8 July, at the Eurogroup meeting, Finance Ministers from the Euro area agreed the analysis of the European Fiscal Board advocating a neutral but differentiated fiscal stance for Member States in the euro area in 2020.
The discussion of the euro area's senior treasurers referred to the report of the European Budget Committee, the body responsible for advising the Commission on budgetary matters, which was tabled on 25 June (see EUROPE 12282/18).
In this report, the experts believe that some countries should consolidate their public finances, while others should use the budgetary room for manoeuvre available to them to invest.
"There is broad consensus that for member states with high debt levels, there is a need to rebuild fiscal buffers. At the same time, countries who have already built such buffers, can prioritise investments, boost potential growth and tackle long term challenges", said Mário Centeno, President of the Eurogroup, at a press conference. So, for him, appropriate and differentiated fiscal policies could lead to a "broadly neutral fiscal stance" in the euro area next year.
Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, said the same. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)