On 18 June 2018, the European Fiscal Board (EFB) published its assessment of the general orientation of fiscal policy in the euro area. The report concludes that the favourable economic outlook offers a prime opportunity to rebuild fiscal buffers. Especially euro area Member States with a high government debt-to-GDP ratio need to do more than simply accrue the budgetary benefits of the economic expansion. With economic activity in the euro area expanding at a robust pace and becoming job-rich, rather than repeating the mistakes of the past and losing the room to manoeuvre when the next crisis hits, the EFB report argues that now is the time to move towards a somewhat restrictive orientation of fiscal policy in the euro area. It also proposes that this would be a good time to upgrade the EU's fiscal framework and prepare a capacity for joint stabilisation for the euro area. As a result of successive years of sustained output growth, in 2019 the euro area is expected to operate above potential, an assessment shared by the Commission, the IMF and the OECD.