Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria and Lithuania budget plans criticised as Eurogroup stresses flexibility in the wake of the migrant crisis
Eurozone finance ministers piled pressure on their counterparts in Austria, Lithuania, Italy, Spain and Portugal last night as they were criticised for their spending plans.
At a meeting in Brussels the 19-strong Eurogroup backed the European Commissions recent analysis of these countries hitting their budget targets.
“For these countries more work needs to be done,” Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem said.
The budget targets are part of the Eurozone’s stability and growth pact which sets targets for debts and deficits. The criticised Portugal for failing to submit a draft budgetary plan (DBP), which was due on 15 October.
“We regret that Portugal has not submitted a DBP and call on Portugal to submit a DBP targeting compliance with SGP requirements, as soon as possible,” the Eurogroup said.
“We had to be firm there,” Dijsselbloem said.
Eurozone member states have to submit their DBPs by 15 of October each year. The European Commission then assesses whether the plans are in line with budget limits in the stability and growth pact with another assessment from the Eurogroup.
The member states are expected to take the results of the assessment into account when adopting their national budgets for the next year.
“Given the still high debt levels as well as the challenges of an ageing society, fiscal consolidation must continue in a growth friendly and differentiated manner to ensure sustainability,” the Eurogroup’s statement said.
However, the Eurogroup underscored the level of flexibility in current agreements and said countries would be given leeway to fund areas related to the migrant crisis.
“We note that Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany and Italy have submitted information on the costs associated with refugee inflows,” the Eurogroup said.