Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2005)154 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1466/97 on the strengthening of the surveillance of budgetary positions and the surveillance and coordination of economic policies

Please note

This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.

dossier COM(2005)154 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1466/97 on the strengthening of the surveillance of budgetary positions and the surveillance ...
source COM(2005)154 EN
date 20-04-2005
1. Meeting in Amsterdam on 17 June 1997, the European Council agreed on a Stability and Growth Pact in accordance with the principles and procedures of the Treaty. The European Council noted however in June 2004 the need to foster transparency and national ownership of the EU fiscal framework and to improve enforcement of its rules and provisions. The Commission issued a Communication on 3 September 2004 on “strengthening economic governance and clarifying the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact” in which it provided an orientation for the future set-up of the Stability and Growth Pact and suggested enhancing its economic underpinnings and strengthening its credibility and enforcement.

Following the Commission Communication, the Council and the Commission engaged in discussions in order to reach consensus on a reform of the Stability and Growth Pact. On 20 March 2005, the Council adopted a report on “Improving the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact”. In its report, the Council gave consideration to enhancing the governance and the national ownership of the fiscal framework, to strengthening the economic underpinnings and the effectiveness of the Pact, both in its preventive and corrective arms, to safeguarding the sustainability of public finances in the long run, to promoting growth and to avoiding imposing excessive burdens on future generations.

On 22 and 23 March 2005 the European Council endorsed this report, stating that it updates and complements the Stability and Growth Pact, which consists of Council Regulations (EC) No 1466/97 and (EC) No 1467/97 and the Resolution of the European Council on the Stability and Growth Pact of 7 July 1997.

In the Presidency conclusions of its meeting of 22 and 23 March 2005, the European Council invited the Commission to bring forward proposals for amending the Council Regulations in accordance with the Council report, which expressed the Council’s preference for keeping changes to the existing Regulations to a minimum.

2. In addition to the amendments reflecting the agreement mentioned above, some amendments mainly of a technical nature are introduced to Regulation (EC) No 1466/97 in order to ensure consistency with the Council report. In particular, experience has shown that deadlines set for the examination of stability and convergence programmes by the Council were overly tight. An extension of these deadlines is proposed.