Under the draft regulations known as the “two-pack” which are expected to be formally adopted in May or June, a common budgetary timeline is being introduced for all Euro area member states. In line with the requirements under the “two-pack” Budget day will be on the 15th of October this year. As the Budget date is moving forward, the Medium Term Fiscal Statement which is normally produced in October/November will become unnecessary. Under the new budgetary framework, both the Stability Programme Update and the Budget will show medium-term macroeconomic and fiscal projections. As such, it has been proposed to combine the information normally contained in the Medium Term Fiscal Statement with the Budget.
As is normal practice the Budget will update the planned fiscal adjustment for the coming 3 years, this will cover the period 2014-2016.