German Finance Minister Rejects EU Proposal on New Debt Rules

Kamil Kowalcze
·1 min read

(Bloomberg) -- German Finance Minister Christian Lindner rejected a proposal from the European Union’s executive arm to negotiate debt rules individually with member states.

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“The common European stability and growth policy must be based on common rules that are identical for all,” he said in Brussels on Monday ahead of a meeting of the Eurogroup, which brings together the euro area’s finance chiefs. “A bilateralization of questions concerning the stability of our fiscal order wouldn’t be a reform that would make Europe stronger and more competitive.”

“The common European stability and growth policy must be based on common rules that are identical for all,” he said in Brussels on Monday ahead of a meeting of the Eurogroup, which brings together the euro area’s finance chiefs. “A bilateralization of questions concerning the stability of our fiscal order wouldn’t be a reform that would make Europe stronger and more competitive.”

While the new rules must “start from different debt levels and allow for flexibility,” it must not be possible to circumvent them, the fiscally hawkish minister said, making clear an agreement isn’t yet in sight.

The EU Commission has presented proposals to reform the bloc’s fiscal rules, which were suspended because of the Covid pandemic in 2020 and still won’t come back into force again next year because of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

These include negotiating individual debt agreements directly with member states, along the lines of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Some member states want to reach an agreement by March, though Germany is less optimistic about the timing, according to a government official.

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