What has long been suspected seems to come: Brussels has announced a shortage procedure against Austria. The EU committee announced that it was recommended to reduce debts. However, this is just a first step …
The recommendation will probably be formal at the end of June and will then have to be decided by the Council of Economic and Finance Minister. This could happen during his meeting on 8 July in Brussels.
The EU committee presented its spring package for the so-called European Semester in Brussels on Wednesday. In addition to the economic policy and reform recommendations to the EU countries, this also includes reports on budget monitoring that have compliance with the shortage and debt criterion for endangered countries up close. For Austria, the committee determines an excessive shortage.
What is the following?
If a shortage procedure is started, Brussels and Vienna create a plan to reduce the debt. In 2028, the federal government is planning to come from the EU deficiency procedure.
If the savings plans are not implemented, the worst case can take place in the worst case, but this has never happened before. It would be the second EU deficiency procedure for Austria: the first was opened after the financial and economic crisis of 2008.
Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer (Spö) said last week in the Federal Council that he was not afraid of the shortage procedure. The reason for the procedure is that with its budget deficit of 4.7 percent of GDP last year and the planned 4.5 percent this year, Austria is clearly above the permitted limit of three percent of the economic output of the so -called Maastricht criteria of the EU.
Austria is also the only country for which the EU predicts a decrease in business in the committee published by the Commission this year. However, it is not the only country affected by a shortage process: they are currently running against Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Romania.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
