Finance Minister Caciu: “The energy price crisis can be alleviated by reforming the Stability and Growth Pact”

The Minister of Finance, Adrian Caciu, presented to his Czech counterpart, Zbynìk Stanjura, Romania’s position on the revision of the fiscal rules of the Stability and Growth Pact, in a meeting held in Brussels, in the context of the ECOFIN and Eurogroup Council meetings in extended format.

The Czech Republic will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of this year, and the Czech Minister of Finance has given assurances that reaching a compromise on European economic governance will be one of the priorities of his term. The two ministers agreed that a return to the old European fiscal rules is not realistic, and a new approach is needed to maintain the maximum 3% ceiling for the budget deficit. At the same time, possible compromise solutions should apply uniformly to all Member States.

“Romania supports ensuring flexibility for investments, including in terms of the main challenges we face in terms of security and energy crisis. From this point of view, we welcome the Czech Republic’s commitment to prioritize the reform of fiscal rules during the Presidency of the EU Council, ensuring a balance between the speed of the process and the quality of the outcome of the negotiations. In a critical context from a geopolitical point of view, but also marked by the challenges of rising energy prices, inflation or the prospect of blockages in supply chains, the appropriate reform of fiscal rules in the Stability and Growth Pact can lead to a revival of investment. necessary in the energy market and in the field of defense. From this point of view, the energy price crisis can be mitigated with the help of the Stability and Growth Pact reform,“ said the Finance Minister Adrian Caciu.

The talks between the two finance ministers also focused on developments on other important issues such as the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive (ETD) or the “Fit for 55” package proposed by the European Commission in 2021.