Commission favours margins for public investment for growth

During this morning's debate in the European Parliament on the political priorities for the next six months, President Barroso made the following announcement:

"Following its commitments in the Blueprint for a deep and genuine economic and monetary union, as well as in the Two-Pack, the Commission has explored further ways within the preventive arm of the Stability and Growth Pact to accommodate non-recurrent public investment programmes with a proven impact on the sustainability of public finances made by the member states in the assessment of their Stability and Convergence Programmes.

Today I would like to announce that when assessing the national budgets for 2014 and the budgetary outcomes for 2013, we will again, in full respect of the Stability and Growth Pact, consider allowing temporary deviations from the structural deficit path towards the medium-term objectives set in the country specific recommendations on a case by case basis. Such a deviation must be linked to national expenditure on projects co-funded by the EU under the Structural and Cohesion policy, Trans-European Networks or Connecting Europe Facility with a positive, direct and verifiable long-term budgetary effect.

Today, Vice-President Olli Rehn is writing to his colleagues, the finance ministers, and to the European Parliament to explain our approach in detail, as agreed in the Two-Pack agreement."

>> Vice-President Rehn's letter to the finance ministers  

More about:

>> The Stability and Growth Pact

>> The Commission presents a Blueprint for a deep and genuine economic and monetary union

>> The Two-Pack