Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant said that the Fiscal Pact has not solved long term problems of the Eurozone and should be submitted for a new and democratic discussion before it becomes part of the Treaties of the European Union. All local and national representatives across the EU should be invited to carry out an assessment of the real impact of the Fiscal Compact, remarked Dr Sant while participating in the discussion on “the Fiscal Compact as part of national economic policy making” during the European Parliamentary Week for 2017. This event brought together Parliamentarians from all over the European Union to discuss economic, budgetary and social matters with Members of the European Parliament, representatives from the European Commission and the Council, including the Maltese Presidency.
Dr Sant said national representatives across the EU should assess the need for a simplification of the Pact’s expenditure rules. They should analyse the compatibility of the goals set out in the Fiscal Compact with other criteria adopted by the EU to boost public investments across the EU, for instance, by exempting net public investment from government deficit calculation.
“Before deciding to include the Fiscal Compact in the EU Treaties, and regardless of such a step, we need to ask ourselves some hard questions. With our national Parliaments, we must create a discussion, a dialogue, about the real significance of the results obtained, the results claimed, for the fiscal compact. Have its rules really been instrumental in saving the eurozone? Are they still relevant today in their existing format?” asked Dr Sant.
The Maltese MEP said the Fiscal Pact was brokered and signed in a different economic and political context with little public debate and involvement.
“By any measure, the outcomes have not been outstanding. Just consider the latest economic (autumn) forecast of the Commission… with many countries still lagging in terms of debt, deficit and unemployment. The truth is that it’s not possible to put fiscal policy in a legal straight jacket. Tight rules will be violated as soon as they become too inconvenient. The political environment now is very different to what it was when the fiscal compact was crafted. Today, perhaps because of it, the main democratic challenge to austerity is coming from populism, which has thereby been boosted. Instead of trying to follow blindly the goal of fiscal consolidation, I think a debate should take place around the Fiscal Compact,” said Dr Sant.
You may view Dr Sant’s intervention on this link : –
Maltese Version – Il-parlamenti nazzjonali tal-EU għandhom jiddiskutu mill-ġdid il-patt fiskali
Il-Parlamenti Nazzjonali tal-pajjiżi taż-żona ewro għandhom jiddiskutu mill-ġdid il-Patt Fiskali u janalizzaw l-impatt reali tiegħu b’mod demokratiku qabel isir parti mit-Trattati tal-Unjoni Ewropea. Dan qalu l-Kap tad-Delegazzjoni Laburista Alfred Sant li saħaq li l-Patt Fiskali ma solviex il-problemi tal-pajjiżi fiż-żona ewro. Dr Sant kien qed jindirizza d-diskussjoni “Il-Patt Fiskali bħala parti mit-twettiq tal-politika ekonomika nazzjonali” li saret matul il-Ġimgħa Parlamentari Ewropea għall-2017. Din id-diskussjoni ġabret flimkien Membri Parlamentari mill-Unjoni Ewropea kollha biex jiddiskutu l-ekonomija, il-baġits u l-affarijiet soċjali mal-Membri tal-Parlament Ewropew, rappreżentanti tal-Kummissjoni Ewropea u tal-Kunsill tal-Unjoni, li inkludew ukoll il-Presidenza Maltija.
Dr Sant qal li r-rappreżentanti nazzjonali tal-pajjiżi tal-Unjoni għandhom jiflu l-ħtieġa ta’ simplifikazzjoni tar-regoli tal-infiq tal-Patt. Għandhom janalizzaw il-kompatibilita` tal-għanijiet tal-Patt Fiskali ma’ kriterji oħra mħaddna mill-Unjoni biex jagħtu spinta lill-investimenti pubbliċi, pereżempju, bl-eżenzjoni tal-investiment pubbliku mill-kalkoli tad-defiċit tal-gvernijiet.
“Qabel niddeċiedu ninkludux il-Patt Fiskali fit-trattati tal-Unjoni, u minkejja dan il-pass, għandna nistaqsu lilna nfusna mistoqsijiet diffiċli. Mal-Parlamenti Nazzjonali għandna noħolqu diskussjoni, djalogu, dwar it-tifsira reali tar-riżultati li qed jinkisbu mill-patt fiskali. Ir-regoli tiegħu verament qed iservu biex insalvaw iż-żona ewro? Għadhom rilevanti llum fil-forma preżenti tagħhom?” staqsa Dr Sant.
L-Ewroparlamentari Malti qal li l-ftehim tal-Patt Fiskali ġie ffirmat f’sitwazzjoni ekonomika u kuntest politiku differenti minn tal-lum u bi ftit dibattitu pubbliku.
“Ir-riżultati li ħarġu minnu ma kinux ta’ barra minn hawn. Ikkunsidraw biss l-aħħar tbassir ekonomiku tal-Kummissjoni…..ħafna pajjiżi għadhom lura dwar dejn, defiċit u qgħad. Il-verita` hi li mhux possibbli li l-politika fiskali titqiegħed f’qafas issikkat ħafna. Regoli stretti jinkisru hekk kif jibdew joħolqu d-diffikultajiet. L-ambjent politiku tal-preżent huwa differenti ħafna minn dak li fih inħoloq il-patt fiskali. Illum, forsi minħabba fih, l-akbar sfida demokratika għall-awsterita` ġejja mill-populiżmu li qiegħed dejjem jissaħħaħ. Minflok nimxu fil-għama wara l-għan tal-konsolidament fiskali, naħseb li għandu jkun hemm dibattitu fuq il-Patt Fiskali.” qal Dr Sant.
Segwi l-intervent ta’ Dr Sant fuq din il-link : –
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