IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/aon/annual/2021.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

2021 annual report of the European Fiscal Board

Author

Listed:
  • European Fiscal Board (EFB)

Abstract

The report assesses the implementation of the EU fiscal framework during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic and clarifies the EFB’s reform proposals to account for post-pandemic realities. The Covid-19 pandemic pushed the EU into an economic recession with an average annual decline in real GDP of more than 6% by 2020. Against such a backdrop, a number of important measures provided the necessary room for policy manoeuvre, notably the activation of the severe economic downturn clause of the Stability and Growth Pact, the ECB’s pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) and the EU’s Next Generation EU (NGEU) initiative. At the same time, the policy response also revealed issues in the EU fiscal framework: - the difficulty for some Member States to create fiscal buffers in good economic times - the tendency to improvise new forms of flexibility in the application of the EU fiscal rules or new risk-sharing elements when times turn bad - the lack of clarity on timing and conditions for the deactivation of the severe economic downturn clause. The EFB welcomes the relaunch of the economic governance review, and its declared aim to build consensus well in time for 2023. Professor Niels Thygesen, Chair of the Board, underscored that the EFB’s reform proposals outlined before the pandemic had become more relevant: “the future focus should be on one primary objective, a long-run anchor for public debt, with one main operational rule - an expenditure benchmark - to target a gradual reduction of the debt ratio towards the anchor at a pace tailored to country circumstances. A single escape clause to be applied under well-specified conditions and backed by independent economic analysis would complete the system.” The EFB also advocates maintaining clear and recognizable reference values for a sound fiscal framework. The 3% of GDP deficit threshold remains a useful backstop against unsustainable debt dynamics. Beyond the update of EU fiscal rules, the EFB reiterates the need to create a permanent central fiscal capacity for stabilisation and arrangements to protect government investment.

Suggested Citation

  • European Fiscal Board (EFB), 2021. "2021 annual report of the European Fiscal Board," Annual reports 2021, European Fiscal Board.
    • Handle: RePEc:aon:annual:2021
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/annual_report_2021_efb_en_1.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xavier Debrun & Laurent Moulin & Alessandro Turrini & Joaquim Ayuso-i-Casals & Manmohan S. Kumar, 2008. "Tied to the mast? National fiscal rules in the European Union [‘Constitutions, politics, and economics’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 23(54), pages 298-362.
    2. Jonas Fischer & Lars Jonung & Martin Larch, 2007. "101 Proposals to reform the Stability and Growth Pact. Why so many? A Survey," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 267, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    3. Roel Beetsma & Massimo Giuliodori & Franc Klaassen, 2006. "Trade spill-overs of fiscal policy in the European Union: a panel analysis [‘Fiscal policy, profits, and investment’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 21(48), pages 640-687.
    4. Olivier Blanchard & Alvaro Leandro & Jeromin Zettelmeyer, 2021. "Redesigning EU fiscal rules: from rules to standards," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 36(106), pages 195-236.
    5. André Sapir & Marco Buti, 1998. "Economic policy in EMU," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/8078, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    6. Caselli, Francesca & Wingender, Philippe, 2021. "Heterogeneous effects of fiscal rules: The Maastricht fiscal criterion and the counterfactual distribution of government deficits✰," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    7. Philipp Pfeiffer & Janos Varga & Jan in 't Veld, 2021. "Quantifying Spillovers of Next Generation EU Investment," European Economy - Discussion Papers 144, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    8. Debrun, Xavier & Jonung, Lars, 2019. "Under threat: Rules-based fiscal policy and how to preserve it," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 142-157.
    9. Valerie A. Ramey, 2019. "Ten Years after the Financial Crisis: What Have We Learned from the Renaissance in Fiscal Research?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(2), pages 89-114, Spring.
    10. repec:oup:ecpoli:v:21:y:2006:i:48:p:639-687 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. László Jankovics & Monika Sherwood, 2017. "Independent Fiscal Institutions in the EU Member States: The Early Years," European Economy - Discussion Papers 067, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    12. Julia Anderson & Francesco Papadia & Nicolas Véron, 2021. "COVID-19 credit-support programmes in Europe’s five largest economies," Working Papers 41282, Bruegel.
    13. Miklós Losoncz & Csaba G. Tóth, 2020. "Government Debt Reduction in the Old EU Member States: Is This Time Different?," Financial and Economic Review, Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary), vol. 19(2), pages 28-54.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jost, Thomas & Tödter, Karl-Heinz, 2021. "Reducing sovereign debt levels in the post-Covid Eurozone with a simple deficit rule," IMFS Working Paper Series 164, Goethe University Frankfurt, Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability (IMFS).
    2. Elena-Mădălina ZAMFIR (AVRAM) & Georgiana BALABAN & Cosmin MARINESCU, 2022. "Economic resilience in Central and Eastern European countries," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania - AGER, vol. 0(1(630), S), pages 5-26, Spring.
    3. Larch, Martin & Busse, Matthias & Jankovics, László, 2021. "Enforcement of fiscal rules: Lessons from the fiscal compact," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-085, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Larch, Martin & Van den Noord, Paul & Jonung, Lars, 2010. "The stability and growth pact: lessons from the great recession," MPRA Paper 27900, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Andersson, Fredrik N. G. & Jonung, Lars, 2022. "The Risks of Adopting the Bond Yield as the Anchor for the EU Fiscal Framework," Working Papers 2022:1, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    3. Robert Kraemer & Jonne Lehtimäki, 2023. "Government debt: the impact of fiscal rules at the European and national level," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 50(3), pages 783-805, August.
    4. Ginters Buss & Patrick Gruning & Olegs Tkacevs, 2021. "Choosing the European Fiscal Rule," Working Papers 2021/03, Latvijas Banka.
    5. Carlos Fonseca Marinheiro, 2021. "The Expenditure Benchmark: Complex and Unsuitable for Independent Fiscal Institutions," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 63(3), pages 411-431, September.
    6. Niklas Potrafke, 2023. "The Economic Consequences of Fiscal Rules," CESifo Working Paper Series 10765, CESifo.
    7. Julia del Amo Valor & Marcos Martín Mateos & Diego Martínez López & Javier J. Pérez, 2023. "Is the European economic governance framework too “complex”? A critical discussion," Working Papers 2023-06, FEDEA.
    8. Marzia Romanelli & Pietro Tommasino & Emilio VadalÃ, 2022. "The future of European fiscal governance: a comprehensive approach," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 691, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    9. Frankel, Jeffrey A. & Schreger, Jesse, 2012. "Over-Optimistic Official Forecasts in the Eurozone and Fiscal Rules," Working Paper Series rwp12-041, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    10. Ablam Estel APETI & Bao-We-Wal BAMBE & Jean Louis COMBES, 2022. "On the Macroeconomic Effects of Fiscal Reforms : Fiscal Rules and Public Expenditure Efficiency," LEO Working Papers / DR LEO 2985, Orleans Economics Laboratory / Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orleans (LEO), University of Orleans.
    11. Mario Alloza & Marien Ferdinandusse & Pascal Jacquinot & Katja Schmidt, 2020. "Fiscal expenditure spillovers in the euro area: An empirical and model-based assessment," Occasional Papers 2012, Banco de España.
    12. Syed Sadaqat Ali Shah & Muhammad Asim Afridi, 2023. "Cyclical variation of fiscal multipliers in Caucasus and Central Asia economies: an empirical evidence," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4531-4563, December.
    13. López-Herrera, Carmen & Cordero, José M. & Pedraja-Chaparro, Francisco & Polo, Cristina, 2023. "Fiscal rules and their influence on public sector efficiency," MPRA Paper 119018, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Amélie Barbier-Gauchard & Kea Baret & Alexandru Minea, 2021. "National fiscal rules and fiscal discipline in the European Union," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(20), pages 2337-2359, April.
    15. Alloza, Mario & Burriel, Pablo & Pérez, Javier J., 2019. "Fiscal policies in the euro area: Revisiting the size of spillovers," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 1-1.
    16. Cezara Vinturis, 2023. "How do fiscal rules shape governments' spending behavior?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(2), pages 322-341, April.
    17. Chrysanthakopoulos, Christos & Tagkalakis, Athanasios, 2023. "The effects of fiscal institutions on fiscal adjustment," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    18. Kea BARET & Theophilos PAPADIMITRIOU, 2019. "On the Stability and Growth Pact compliance: what is predictable with machine learning?," Working Papers of BETA 2019-48, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    19. Angela Köppl & Margit Schratzenstaller, 2022. "Macroeconomic Effects of Green Recovery Programmes. Conceptual Framing and a Review of the Empirical Literature," WIFO Working Papers 646, WIFO.
    20. Jeffrey Frankel & Jesse Schreger, 2013. "Over-optimistic official forecasts and fiscal rules in the eurozone," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 149(2), pages 247-272, June.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aon:annual:2021. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: European Fiscal Board secretariat (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/efbeube.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.