It is the first interview for the European Newsroom (enr) with a finance minister from an EU member state. However, the topics could not have been more significant for the 15 enr agencies. The reform of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), the EU’s budget rules, is one of the main topics in the EU this year.
On Thursday, 8 June, ahead of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin), a regular meeting of Europe’s finance ministers, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner spoke to the enr about Germany’s position on EU’s debt and fiscal rule. “Sound public finances are a precondition for a competitive single market and a stable monetary union. This is why Germany is advocating ambitious efforts to reform the Stability and Growth Pact,” Lindner told the enr in a video conference interview.
The rules were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and that suspension was extended until the end of this year due to Russia’s war on Ukraine. In the debate about the reform of the EU’s fiscal rule, the positions could not be further apart: EU countries such as Germany and the Netherlands are insisting on greater fiscal discipline while highly indebted countries fear that faster debt reduction could jeopardise their economic growth.
The participating enr agencies were from Spain (EFE and Europa Press), France (AFP), Italy (ANSA), Belgium (Belga), Slovenia (STA), Croatia (HINA), Bulgaria (BTA), Slovakia (TASR), Poland (PAP), Greece (AMNA), the Netherlands (ANP), Romania (Agerpres), Austria (APA) and Germany (dpa).
Read the enr’s Key Story based on the interview here.
The interview with Christian Lindner on Twitter:
The EU’s debt and deficit rule reform, known as the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), is one of the hottest topics this year. The enr spoke with German Finance Minister Christian Lindner about what is at stake. #fiscalrules
— European Newsroom (enr) (@enr_newsroom) June 14, 2023
Here is #enr_eu's Key Story: https://t.co/PV5ZdWyxnL pic.twitter.com/tUBaj3Qcry
Σε συνέντευξή του στο @amna_news και @enr_newsroom, ο @c_lindner τονίζει ότι είναι δυνατό να επιτευχθεί συναίνεση στους δημοσιονομικούς κανόνες φέτος και εμφανίζεται σκεπτικός ως προς μια ευνοϊκότερη αντιμετώπιση των αμυντικών δαπανών. https://t.co/lrPueMPfn3
— Maria Aroni (@aronimar) June 12, 2023
Lindner on EU’s debt rules: we need the best solution, not the fastest one.
— Ansa English News (@ansa_english) June 14, 2023
German Finance Minister speaks to @enr_newsroom https://t.co/DXZULUmDLp https://t.co/teoY7Es8u4
#Европейскинюзрум: Нуждаем се от най-доброто, а не от най-бързото решение за реформата на дълговите правила в ЕС, според Кристиан Линднер.https://t.co/R9LFAM5sH9@enr_newsroom
— Българска телеграфна агенция (@BTAnewsBG) June 16, 2023