Germany not isolated on EU debt rules reform, minister says
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Germany is not alone with its call for strict debt rules in the European Union, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told dpa and other members of the European Newsroom.
“Germany is not isolated at all. There are many member states that share our concerns,” said Lindner.
Lindner added that other countries may express their opinions less openly.
The strict debt and deficit rules of the bloc have been temporarily lifted due to the coronavirus pandemic, which compelled even fiscally conservative countries like Germany to accumulate significant levels of public debt. This situation has led to calls for reform.
In April, the European Commission put forth a proposal to provide more flexibility to heavily indebted countries in their efforts to reduce public debt, aiming to facilitate necessary investments.
Lindner informed dpa that the proposal is still not the final resolution and requires further improvement. According to him, it fails to ensure a realistic and reliable decline in debt and deficits.
Under the current suspended rules, countries were expected to reduce their excessive debt by 5% annually.
Germany has consistently advocated for binding regulations for countries with high levels of debt, proposing a yearly reduction of 1 percentage point in the debt-to-GDP ratio.
