Mandate
The Board was set up following the Five Presidents' Report Completing Europe's Economic and Monetary Union", with the aim to strengthen the current economic governance framework.
The main responsibilities of EFB are
- evaluate the implementation of the Union fiscal framework and the appropriateness of the actual fiscal stance at euro area and national level
- make suggestions for the future evolution of the Union fiscal framework
- assess the prospective fiscal stance appropriate for the euro area as a whole based on an economic judgment, as well as the appropriate national fiscal stances, within the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact
- cooperate with the National Independent Fiscal Councils
- provide ad-hoc advice to the Commission President
Composition
In April 2019, the European Commission decided to renew the mandate of the European Fiscal Board for a second and final three-year period taking effect on 20 October 2019.
On 9 September 2020, the European Commission appointed Mr. Xavier DEBRUN as new member of the European Fiscal Board for a three-year term.
THYGESEN NielsChairman |
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Professor Emeritus of International Economics at the University of Copenhagen and former adviser to governments and international institutions, Denmark. |
BEETSMA RoelMember |
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Professor at the University of Amsterdam and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business, The Netherlands. |
BORDIGNON MassimoMember |
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Professor and Director of the Department of Economics and Finance at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy. |
DEBRUN XavierMember |
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Advisor in the Research Department of the National Bank of Belgium. |
SZCZUREK MateuszMember |
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Former Finance Minister, teacher at Warsaw University, and EBRD Associate Director, Poland. |
Secretariat
LARCH MartinHead of Secretariat |
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Manage the secretariat of the European Fiscal Board (EFB). |
The secretariat consists of a Head of secretariat and dedicated supporting staff members. It is responsible for the following activities:
- Assists in the decision-making process of the Board by preparing the meetings of the Board;
- Provides high-quality analytical, statistical, administrative and logistical support to the Board under the direction of the Chair;
- Ensures cooperation with the national fiscal councils.
Reports and publications
Research
Compliance tracker
Over the past several years, the secretariat of the European Fiscal Board has collected information on budgetary policies in the EU Member States vis-à-vis the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). The results are summarised and presented in a user-friendly tool, the COMPLIANCE TRACKER. The database underpinning the tool assesses numerical as opposed to legal compliance with the rules of the SGP. Abstracting from legal interpretations or margins of discretion allowed by the letter or spirit of the law, it assesses whether in pure quantitative terms the relevant fiscal aggregates – the budget balance, the debt-to-GDP ratio or government expenditure – evolved in line with the main course of action implied by the rules or not.
Documents
Amended Rules of Procedure of the European Fiscal Board
The European Fiscal Board: Questions and Answers
Events
EFB Events
UPCOMING EVENT | 26 February 2021
The European Fiscal Board will hold its third Annual Conference in 2021. This year’s topic is “High Debt, Low Rates and Tail Events: Rules-Based Fiscal Frameworks under Stress”. The full programme is available here.
Please register via this link by Friday 29 January 2021.
EVENT | 1 July 2020
The Chair of the EFB was in Brussels to present the latest report in fiscal policy in the euro area. He met President von der Leyen and the college of Commissioners to discuss the key messages of the new analysis.
EVENT | 2 March 2020
The EFB chair contributed to a high-level panel at the ECB on fiscal policy challenges at the current juncture. The event brought together public finances experts of the European System of Central Banks and independent fiscal institutions.
EVENT | 28 February 2020
Conference of the European Fiscal Board on “Rethinking the European Fiscal Framework” organised jointly with the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and the Amsterdam Centre for European Studies (ACES). The full programme is available here.
The experience with the current European fiscal framework is at best mixed, as the European Fiscal Board has shown in its recent evaluation report of the EU fiscal rules. Indeed, there is substantial discussion about how they could be best revised. This conference revisits the EU fiscal rules. However, it also takes a broader view of EU arrangements by exploring the case for a central fiscal capacity and “blue sky arrangements” based on a complete overhaul of the current fiscal framework.
NEW – Full records, papers and presentations available here.
EVENT | 28 January 2020
Alongside high-level representatives of the IMF, the OECD and the ECB, the EFB contributed to a debate on "Fiscal Rules in Europe: Design and Enforcement" organised by the Economic and Financial Affairs Directorate-General of the European Commission in Brussels.
EVENT | 15 January 2020
One position of Member of the European Fiscal Board is vacant. The call for expressions of interest was published in the Official Journal: 2020/C 13/08
EVENT | 17 January 2020
Martin Larch, the Head of Secretariat of the European Fiscal Board, had the opportunity to reach out to representatives of national Parliaments in an event organised by the European Parliament in Brussels.
EVENT | 11 December 2019
© European Union 2019 – EP/photographer
Niels Thysgesen was part of an expert group invited to a workshop of the ECON committee of the European Parliament discussing ways to simplify the Stability and Growth Pact: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/192044/Draft_programme_WS_on_SGP_simplification-original.pdf
EVENT | 18 November 2019
Mateusz Szczurek and Martin Larch, were in Prague to met the youngest national independent fiscal institution in the EU, the Czech fiscal council. The meeting was sponsored by the EU representation and offered the opportunity for a very fruitful exchange of views and experiences.
EVENT | 15 November 2019
On 15 November 2019, Prof. Roel Beetsma, a Member of the European Fiscal Board, was invited to discuss a paper by Olivier Blanchard on fiscal policy in a low interest rate environment at the Annual Research Conference organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
EVENT | 24 September 2019
On Tuesday 24 September, Prof. Niels Thygesen, the chair of the European Fiscal Board (EFB), presented the EFB’s assessment of the general orientation of fiscal policy in the euro area for 2020 at the European Parliament in Brussels.
EVENT | 14 September 2019
On Saturday 14 September 2019, Niels Thygesen, the Chair of the European Fiscal Board, was at the informal ECOFIN in Helsinki to present the Board’s recent report on the effectiveness of EU fiscal rules.
EVENT | 8 July 2019
On Monday 8 July, Prof. Niels Thygesen, the chair of the European Fiscal Board (EFB), attended the meeting of euro area finance ministers in Brussels. He presented and discussed the EFB’s assessment of the general orientation of fiscal policy in the euro area for 2020. Ahead of the meeting, Prof. Thygesen had an exchange with the President of the Eurogroup Mario Centeno.
EFB EVENT | 25 June 2019
On Tuesday 25 June 2019, the European Fiscal Board has published its assessment of the general orientation of fiscal policy in the euro area for 2020. The Board concludes that, in an economy expected to operate around potential, a neutral fiscal stance is appropriate for the euro area as a whole in 2020.
EFB EVENT | 28 February 2019
On Thursday 28 February 2019, the first European Fiscal Board workshop took place in Brussels. The objective was to exchange best practice in order to strengthen IFI effectiveness in a long-lasting manner.
External Events
EVENT | 4-5 February 2019
Copyright OECD
On 4-5 February 2019, Mr. Mateusz Szczurek, Member of the European Fiscal Board (EFB), participated in the 11th Annual Meeting of the OECD Network of Parliamentary Budget Officials and Independent Fiscal Institutions (PBO-IFIs) in Lisbon. The meeting was a prime opportunity to present the work of the EFB to an international audience and to exchange best practice with other independent fiscal institutions.
EVENT | 28 November 2018
On Thursday 28 November, Prof. Niels Thygesen, the chair of the European Fiscal Board, presented the 2018 Annual Report of the Board at the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) in Luxembourg.
EVENT | 22 November 2018
On Thursday 22 November, Prof. Niels Thygesen, the chair of the European Fiscal Board, presented the 2018 Annual Report of the Board at Bruegel, the Brussels-based economics think tank. A video recording of the event is available on the Bruegel website.
EVENT | 22 November 2018
© European Union 2018 – EP/photographer
On Thursday 22 November, Eloïse Orseau from the EFB Secretariat presented the 2018 Annual Report in the European Parliament, at a meeting with national parliament administrations. The aim of the workshop was to strengthen cooperation and better understanding among EU national parliaments’ administrations on the main steps and tools of the European Semester process, through knowledge sharing and the exchange of best practice.
EVENT | 3-4 July 2018
On 3-4 July 2018, Mr. Mateusz Szczurek, Member of the European Fiscal Board (EFB), participated in the 10th Annual Meeting of the OECD Network of Parliamentary Budget Officials and Independent Fiscal Institutions (PBO-IFIs) in Seoul. The meeting was a prime opportunity to present the work of the EFB to an international audience and to exchange best practice with other independent fiscal institutions.
EVENT | 2 July 2018
On Monday 2 July, Prof. Niels Thygesen, the chair of the European Fiscal Board, presented the latest report of the Board at Bruegel, the Brussels-based economics think tank.
EVENT | 18 June 2018
On Monday 18 June, the European Fiscal Board presented its latest report to the press. The report provides an assessment of the macroeconomic situation and outlook in the euro area and offers independent advice on the general orientation of fiscal policy in the single currency area. It also includes a discussion on how to improve the fiscal architecture of the Economic and Monetary Union.
EVENT | 10 May 2018
On 10 May 2018, the European Fiscal Board participated in the final conference of the ADEMU research project at the European University Institute in Florence. The objective of the ADEMU research project is to reassess the overall fiscal and monetary framework of the EU and, in particular, the euro area. Roel Beetsma, a Member of the European Fiscal Board and Professor of Economics at the University of Amsterdam, was invited to speak in a policy panel on A New Fiscal and Monetary Framework for the EMU? The EU Presidents’ roadmap in 2018.
EVENT | 12 April 2018
12 April 2018 - Professor Niels Thygesen, the Chair of the European Fiscal Board, met the President of the Eurogroup, the Portuguese Minister of Finance Mário Centeno in Lisbon. On the same day he also had an exchange with members of the independent Portuguese Fiscal Council.
EVENT | 22 March 2018
On 22 March 2018, the European Fiscal Board participated in the 20th Banca d' Italia Workshop on Public Finance, "Fiscal challenges for the Euro area: institutional and policy fixes". Mr. Roel Beetsma, member of the Board, was invited to a policy panel reviewing the current EU fiscal framework. The policy panel was preceded by a presentation of the EFB's Annual Report 2017.