The urgent economic and budgetary measures taken by Member States over the past month to counter the economic impact of COVID-19 make the national Draft Budgetary Plans submitted to the European Commission in 2019 obsolete.
The European institution therefore expects the Twenty-Seven to send in their national stability and reform programmes by the end of April in order to have a clearer picture of the impact of the recent measures adopted on national public finances. In light of updated data, it will attempt to take stock of the economic situation again at the beginning of May and will present its socio-economic policy recommendations, bearing in mind that the Twenty-Seven froze the Stability and Growth Pact in 2020 in order to be able to cover the costs of the fight against COVID-19 (see EUROPE 12452/1).
This is the message that the European institution conveyed to the Austrian authorities when, on Friday 17 April, it delivered an opinion on the Draft Budgetary Plan for 2020 that the new Austrian government sent it at the beginning of March. According to the Commission, a robust assessment of compliance with the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact is “currently not feasible”, it stressed.
The Austrian Draft Budgetary Plan mentions a first package of measures valued at €4 billion, but does not take into account a subsequent second package valued at €34 billion (€15 billion for companies in difficulties, €10 billion in tax relief, €9 billion in state guarantees).
See the Commission’s Opinion: https://bit.ly/3btctFO (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)