BRUSSELS (Reuters) – It is important that European Union governments keep their commitments, Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe said on Thursday, when asked if he was worried about the possibility of France and Italy do not control their spending.
“What will be important in the months and years to come will be to keep the commitments we have made to each other,” he said.
“The general direction of national and eurozone fiscal policies tends to reach a lower level of borrowing and a lower deficit next year. These are commitments that governments, finance ministers, have made to each other. others and I am sure they will be honored.”
The European Commission announced on Wednesday the opening of a procedure for excessive public deficits against seven countries, including France and Italy.
The National Rally, which polls show in the lead in voting intentions for the legislative elections which will be held on June 30 and July 7 in France, has said it wants to lower VAT on energy and fuel and repeal the pension reform. fall, proposals likely to lead to new budgetary slippages.
Markets are also monitoring the situation in Italy, the bloc’s third largest economy, where debt stands at around 138% of gross domestic product (GDP) and growth is below 1%.
(Charlotte Van Campenhout; French version Camille Raynaud)
©2024 Thomson Reuters, all rights reserved. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. “Reuters” and the Reuters Logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies.