Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2017
317. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if a review is under way or planned by the European Commission on the European fiscal rules; if he has raised the possibility of such a review with the Council of European Finance Ministers; if the State has made submissions in this respect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28416/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am currently unaware of any review underway or planned by the European Commission on the European Fiscal Rules. Nor have I raised the possibility of such a review with the Council of European Finance Ministers.
However, changes are made on a regular basis to both the operation of the fiscal rules and the methodology used to assess compliance, particularly in relation to the expenditure benchmark. These changes result from the raising of issues by Member States or in response to proposals from the Commission on its own initiative. For instance, as the Deputy is aware and as outlined in Parliamentary Question number 72 of the 1st of June 2017, I sought and secured a major change from the Commission in achieving an annual update of the reference rate used in the expenditure benchmark. This change applied to all Member States.
Furthermore my Department is currently engaging, on a bilateral basis, with the European Commission to object to the retrospective application of the inclusion of one-offs in the calculation of compliance with the expenditure benchmark for 2016 and the 2016/2017 average. This update to the methodology, which was agreed in late 2016, was set out in the 2017 version of the Vade Mecum on the Stability and Growth Pact.
However the 2017 version of the Vade Mecum itself states that “in order to preserve Member States’ legitimate expectations, compliance with already adopted Council recommendations will continue to be assessed on the basis of methodologies described in the 2016 version of the Vade Mecum." My officials have raised this at European level and the Commission have admitted that there may be legal uncertainty with the approach taken its assessment methodology.
