ITALIAN SENATE: RESOLUTION ON EMU PACKAGE PROPOSALS

Source: Interparliamentary EU Information Exchange (IPEX) i, published on Wednesday, January 31 2018.

On 24 January 2018 the Italian Senate Budget Committee issued a resolution on the package of legislative proposals for deepening the Economic and Monetary Union (COM(2017) 821, COM(2017) 822, COM(2017) 823, COM(2017) 824, COM(2017) 825, COM(2017) 827).

As a matter of principle, the decision to combine agreements and mechanisms established outside the EU into EU law is deemed to be beneficial, for it simplifies and rationalizes EU law and increases the operational efficiency of its institutions, as is the case with the proposal to convert the ESM Treaty into the European Monetary Fund. Doubts were expressed on the incorporation of some contents of the Fiscal Compact into EU law, which might generate confusion and duplication. The Committee advocates instead a review of the current budget rules, for instance by retaining margins of institutional discretion in interpreting and enforcing the common budgetary rules whilst strengthening the responsibility of single countries to adopt such rules and comply with them.

The Committee points out that, while taking into account the due flexibility set forth under the Stability and Growth Pact, the proposal to incorporate the substance of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance into EU law does not mention the so-called investment clause, included in the Communication from the Commission of 13 January 2015. According to the Committee, by no means does such an omission appear to be justified and hopefully it can be amended, in light of the explicit safeguard put in place for investments of single countries when enforcing, as proposed by the Commission, the new budgetary instruments.

Lastly, in the Committee's opinion, the enforcement by the Commission of budgetary measures aimed at promoting innovative mechanisms on an EU level in terms of macroeconomic stabilization, support to structural reforms and stimulation of convergence programs, is positive, but it should be supported by a proposal for the creation of a specific mechanism to fund major European investment projects. Support to growth in the Euro area and the Union requires indeed a substantial increase in investments in Europe, both public and private, to top the modest figures stemming from the so-called ‘Juncker Plan’.

The text of the resolution in Italian and an English translation will soon be available on the IPEX website, together with a study on the EMU package proposals published by the Italian Senate Research Service.

Source: The Italian Senate


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