“We have to be serious as regards fiscal policy and we will be. We believe in fiscal seriousness,” National Economy and Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said while briefing the parliament’s Finance and European Affairs Committees on Thursday.
“The European compromise as regards the adoption of the new economic and fiscal framework is good for our country,” Hatzidakis said, referring to the course of the deliberations on the reform of EU’s economic governance framework.
The minister also underlined that the new framework is expectd to be approved by the European Parliament by the end of April in order to come into effect in 2024. This means that national budgets from 2025 onwards will be governed and affected by the new fiscal rules, adding that with the new framework, “fiscal responsibility is combined with economic development”.
“The new framework is a satisfactory agreement as key priorities we had set were met, such as the special treatment of Defence Expenditures (which was a request of successive governments of Greece), the special provision for the Greek public debt targets in 2033 (as there is a special reference), the support of investments, the avoidance of unfounded demands for the targets on fiscal performance and the gradual reduction of public debt so as not to undermine growth and economic cohesion,” said Hatzidakis.
The minister also explaining the axes of the new framework and clarified that its basic provisions for a budget deficit of 3% and a public debt at 60% of GDP remain unchanged and will not change. However, he said, significant changes are coming in the way the so-called preventative arm and secondary corrective arm operate and these “can be categorised into five axes, which are: fiscal rules based mainly on expenditure; the gradual reduction of the deficit and the debt; flexible goals with a long-term horizon; and support for developmental investment and escape clauses.”
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
