The EU will unveil an overhaul of its fiscal rules on Wednesday, a long-awaited reform that has bitterly divided member states over how to encourage investment while strengthening scrutiny of government spending.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, wants to reform the rules, known as the Stability and Growth Pact, that limit how much the bloc’s 27 member states can borrow.
But the proposals have split the bloc between the more frugal northern countries, including Germany, and the southern states like Italy.
Germany, a staunch defender of fiscal discipline, fears Brussels will overly relax the EU’s budgetary straitjacket and undermine fairness within the bloc.— AFP
