BETA

23 Amendments of Burkhard BALZ related to 2010/0280(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5 a (new)

(5a) The Stability and Growth Pact and the complete economic governance framework should complement and be compatible with a Union strategy for growth and jobs which aims at boosting the Union's competitiveness and social stability. However, these interlinkages should not provide for exemptions to the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10

(10) A temporary departure from ~~prudent fiscal policy-making should be allowed in case of severe economic downturn of a general nature~~the adjustment path towards the medium-term objective may exceptionally be allowed in case of severe economic downturn for the euro-area or the EU as a whole, on condition that this does not endanger fiscal sustainability in the medium-term, in order to facilitate economic recovery.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Wolf KLINZ, Burkhard BALZ, Gunnar HÖKMARK, Olle SCHMIDT

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point -1 (new)

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 1

~~[Current text of Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1466/97:~~-1. Article 1 is replaced by the following: "Article 1 "Article 1 This Regulation sets out the rules covering the content, the submission, the examination and the monitoring of stability programmes and convergence programmes as part of multilateral surveillance by the Council so as to prevent, at an early stage, the occurrence of excessive general government deficits and to promote the surveillance and coordination of economic policies. This regulation sets out as a general rule that the budget of Member States shall be balanced over the economic cycle, running a surplus in boom years and, if necessary, a deficit in lean years. Member States revenue and expenditure shall in principle be balanced without public borrowing. This is the case if structural public borrowing does not exceed 0.35 % of nominal GDP per year."]

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 1 e (new)

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Section 1A b (new)

1e. The following section is inserted: "Section 1Ab HEARING OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE EURO GROUP Article 2ab The President of the Euro Group may, at the request of the European Parliament or on his own initiative, be heard by the competent committees of the European Parliament, in particular in regard to the work programme of the Euro group, the economic situation in the euro area, the evolution of the competitiveness in the Member States and the real convergence of the economies, the sustainability of the budgetary positions of the Member States, the achievement of the national reform plans and the evolution of macro- economic imbalances within the EU."

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 2 – subpoint b – subpoint i

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point a

(a) the medium-term budgetary objective and the adjustment path towards this objective for the general government balance as a percentage of GDP, the expected path of the general government debt ratio, the planned growth path of government expenditure, in particular bearing in mind the conditions and criteria to establish the expenditure growth under Article 5(1), the planned growth path of government revenue at unchanged policy and a quantification of the planned discretionary revenue measures;

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 2 – subpoint c

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97EC
Article 3 – paragraph 3

3. The information about the paths for the general government balance and debt ratio, the growth of government expenditure, the planned growth path of government revenue at unchanged policy, the planned discretionary revenue measures, appropriately quantified, and the main economic assumptions referred to in paragraph 2(a) and (b) shall be on an annual basis and shall cover, the preceding year, the current year and at least the following three years.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 4

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2

The Council and the Commission, when assessing the adjustment path toward the medium-term budgetary objective, shall examine if the Member State concerned pursues an appropriate annual improvement of its cyclically-adjusted budget balance, net of one-off and other temporary measures, required to meet its medium-term budgetary objective, with 0.5% of GDP as a benchmark. For Member States faced with a ~~high~~debt level ~~of debt or excessive macroeconomic imbalances or both, the Council~~exceeding 60% of GDP or with pronounced risks of overall debt sustainability, the Council and the Commission shall examine whether the annual improvement of the cyclically-adjusted budget balance, net of one-off and other temporary measures is significantly higher than 0.5% of GDP. The Council and the Commission shall take into account whether a higher adjustment effort is made in economic good times, whereas the effort may be more limited in economic bad times.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 4

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 4 – point c

(c) for Member States that have not yet reached their medium-term budgetary objective, discretionary reductions of government revenue items are matched either by expenditure reductions or by discretionary increases in other government revenue items or both. The expenditure aggregate should exclude interest expenditure, expenditure on EU programmes fully matched by EU funds revenue and non-discretionary changes in unemployment benefit expenditure. The excess of expenditure growth over the medium-term reference should not be counted as a breach of the benchmark to the extent that it is fully offset by revenue increases mandated by law.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 4

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 6

When defining the adjustment path to the medium-term budgetary objective for Member States that have not yet reached this objective and in allowing a temporary deviation from this objective for Member States that have already reached it, under the condition that an appropriate safety margin with respect to the deficit reference value is preserved and that the budgetary position is expected to return to the medium-term budgetary objective within the programme period, the Council ~~shall~~and the Commission shall only take into account the implementation of major structural reforms which have direct long-term cost- saving effects, including by raising potential growth, and therefore a verifiable impact on the long-term sustainability of public finances.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 4

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 7

SWithin these reforms, special attention shall be paid to ~~pension reforms~~that of pensions, when introducing a multi-pillar system that includes a mandatory, fully funded pillar. Member States implementing such reforms shall be allowed to deviate from the adjustment path to their medium-term budgetary objective or from the objective itself, with the deviation reflecting the net cost of the reform to the publicly managed pillar, under the condition that the deviation remains temporary and that an appropriate safety margin with respect to the deficit reference value is preserved.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 4

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 9

IOnly in periods of severe economic downturn ~~of a general natur~~for the euro area or the EU as a whole Member States may be allowed to temporarily depart from the adjustment path ~~implied by prudent fiscal- policy making referred to in the fourth subparagraph~~towards the MTO referred to in the fourth subparagraph, on condition that this does not endanger fiscal sustainability in the medium-term.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 5

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2

~~A deviation from prudent fiscal policy making shall be considered significant if the following conditions occur: an excess over the expenditure grow~~The assessment of whether the deviation is significant shall notably include the following criteria: For a Member State that has not reached the medium-term budgetary objective, when assessing the c~~onsistent with prudent fiscal policy-making, not offset by discretionary revenue-increasing measures;~~hange in the structural balance, the deviation shall be considered significant if it is at least 0.5% of GDP in one single year or at least 0.25% of GDP on average per year in two consecutive years; when assessing expenditure developments net orf discretionary revenue~~- decreasing measures not offset by reductions in expenditure; and the deviation~~ measures, the deviation shall be considered significant if it has a total impact on the government balance of at least 0.5 % of GDP in one single year or ~~of at least 0.25 % of GDP on average per year~~cumulatively in two consecutive years.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 5

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 4

~~The~~A deviation may be ~~equally~~ not considered significant in case of severe economic downturn ~~of a general nature~~for the euro area or the EU as a whole, on condition that this does not endanger fiscal sustainability in the medium-term.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 6 – subpoint b – subpoint i

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a

(a) the medium-term budgetary objective and the adjustment path towards this objective for the general government balance as a percentage of GDP, the expected path of the general government debt ratio, the planned growth path of government expenditure, in particular bearing in mind the conditions and criteria to establish the expenditure growth under Article 9(1), the planned growth path of government revenue at unchanged policy and a quantification of the planned discretionary revenue measures, the medium-term monetary policy objectives, the relationship of those objectives to price and exchange rate stability and to the achievement of sustained convergence;

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 6 – subpoint c

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 7 – paragraph 3

3. The information about the paths for the general government balance and debt ratio, the growth of government expenditure, the planned growth path of government revenue at unchanged policy, the planned discretionary revenue measures, appropriately quantified, and the main economic assumptions referred to in paragraph 2(a) and (b) shall be on an annual basis and shall cover the preceding year, the current year and at least the following three years.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 8

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2

The Council and the Commission, when assessing the adjustment path toward the medium-term budgetary objective, shall take into account whether a higher adjustment effort is made in economic good times, whereas the effort may be more limited in economic bad times. For Member States faced with a ~~high~~debt level ~~of debt or excessive macroeconomic imbalances or both, the Council~~exceeding 60% of GDP or with pronounced risks of overall debt sustainability, the Council and the Commission shall examine whether the annual improvement of the cyclically- adjusted budget balance, net of one-off and other temporary measures is significantly higher than 0.5% of GDP. For ERM2 Member States, the Council and the Commission shall examine if the Member State concerned pursues an appropriate annual improvement of its cyclically adjusted balance, net of one-off and other temporary measures, required to meet its medium- term budgetary objective, with 0.5% of GDP as a benchmark.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 8

(c) for Member States that have not yet reached their medium-term budgetary objective, discretionary reductions of government revenue items are matched either by expenditure ~~cut~~reductions or by discretionary increases in other government revenue items or both. The expenditure aggregate should exclude interest expenditure, expenditure on EU programmes fully matched by EU funds revenue and non-discretionary changes in unemployment benefit expenditure. The excess of expenditure growth over the medium-term references should not be counted as a breach of the benchmark to the extent that it is fully offset by revenue increases mandated by law.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Wolf KLINZ, Burkhard BALZ, Gunnar HÖKMARK, Olle SCHMIDT

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 8

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 5

The prudent medium-term of growth should be assessed on the basis of projections over a ~~ten~~five-year horizon updated at regular intervals.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 8

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 6

When defining the adjustment path to the medium-term budgetary objective for Member States that have not yet reached this objective and in allowing a temporary deviation from this objective for Member States that have already reached it, under the condition that an appropriate safety margin with respect to the deficit reference value is preserved and that the budgetary position is expected to return to the medium-term budgetary objective within the programme period, the Council ~~shall~~and the Commission shall only take into account the implementation of major structural reforms which have direct long-term cost- saving effects, including by raising potential growth, and therefore a verifiable impact on the long-term sustainability of public finances.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 8

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 7

SWithin these reforms, special attention shall be paid to ~~pension reforms~~that of pensions, when introducing a multi-pillar system that includes a mandatory, fully funded pillar. Member States implementing such reforms shall be allowed to deviate from the adjustment path to their medium-term budgetary objective or from the objective itself, with the deviation reflecting the net cost of the reform to the publicly managed pillar, under the condition that the deviation remains temporary and that an appropriate safety margin with respect to the deficit reference value is preserved.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 8

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 9

IOnly in periods of severe economic downturn ~~of a general natur~~for the euro area or the EU as a whole Member States may be allowed to temporarily depart from the adjustment path ~~implied by prudent fiscal- policy making referred to in the fourth subparagraph~~towards the MTO referred to in the fourth subparagraph, on condition that this does not endanger fiscal sustainability in the medium-term.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 9

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2

A deviation from prudent fiscal policy making shall be considered significant if the following conditions occur: an excess over the expenditure growth consistent with prudent fiscal policy-making, not offset by discretionary revenue-increasing measures;The assessment of whether the deviation is significant shall notably include the following criteria: For a Member State that has not reached the medium-term budgetary objective, when assessing the change in the structural balance, the deviation shall be considered significant it is at least 0.5% of GDP in one single year or at least 0.25% of GDP on average per year in two consecutive years; when assessing expenditure developments net orf discretionary revenue~~- decreasing measures not offset by reductions in expenditure; and the deviation~~ measures, the deviation shall be considered significant if it has a total impact on the government balance of at least 0.5% of GDP in one single year or ~~of at least 0.25% of GDP on average per year~~cumulatively in two consecutive years.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 9

Regulation (EC) No 1466/97
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 4

~~The~~A deviation may be ~~equally~~ not considered significant in case of severe economic downturn ~~of a general nature~~for the euro area or the EU as a whole, on condition that this does not endanger fiscal sustainability in the medium-term.

2011/02/15
Committee: ECON