(Finance) – “The reform of the Stability Pact”It has been in the works for years, but I am optimistic that Member States will reach a compromise by the end of the yearas they are committed to doing.”
This was stated by the Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni speaking at the annual conference on research in Brussels, underlining that “last week’s Ecofin Council marked a significant step forward in this sense. The Commission will continue to work to facilitate a good compromise that preserves both the key objectives and the delicate balance of our proposal.”
“One of the main objectives of this reform is to ensure thatIn the future, public finances can balance the need to ensure fiscal sustainability with the imperative to maintain higher levels of investment for growth”explained Gentiloni.
As for Member States’ recovery and resilience plans, “they are not just about the necessary investments. They are also about crucial reforms in all those sectors that will make it easier for citizens and businesses to prosper. For example, reforms to the administrative capacity of Member States; reforms of the judicial system, the labor market, taxation, energy or digitalisation”, said Gentiloni, explaining that “the novelty of the Recovery Fund it lies in the way this instrument was conceived: with a link to the European Semester and to payments linked to the actual implementation of these reforms. This means we are now making more progress in implementing country-specific recommendations compared to the past”.