During the pandemic, the EU’s fiscal rules were suspended but they look set to be back in place by 2023. The significant increase in government spending in response to the crisis and the introduction of the EU’s recovery fund seemed to some to have heralded a fundamental shift in European attitudes to fiscal policy.
However, there are already calls for a return to austerity once economies have recovered, raising questions over what the EU’s fiscal framework will look like in the coming years and potentially setting up another conflict between northern and southern member states.
- Is it likely the fiscal rules will return in their old form?
- If not, what should they look like?
- What would the political and economic implications of that be?
- What will or should the fiscal stance of the member states be in the coming years and does the recovery fund make any difference to that?
