2023-11-21 18:20:33
France, Europe’s dunce cap in terms of public finances? This is what the European Commission denounced this Tuesday, November 21. Along with Belgium, Croatia and Finland, France is one of those countries which “risk not being in line with the EU’s budgetary recommendations” for next year, due to excessive public spending. During a press conference, the Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, called on these states “to take the necessary measures” to respect European limits.
Defined by the “Stability Pact” for members of the euro zone, limiting the authorized budget deficit to 3% of GDP, this obligation was lifted by Brussels at the beginning of 2020. It was then a question of avoiding a collapse of the European economy hit by the Covid pandemic, temporarily letting spending slide. This exceptional measure was extended until the end of 2023 due to the repercussions of the war in Ukraine. But the European Commission has launched the procedures to put this budgetary corset back on the agenda from 1is January 2024.
Mandatory in 2024, France does not plan to respect the Pact before 2027
Problem is, France only plans this return to the rule for… 2027! And at the end of June, the French Court of Auditors was already sounding the alarm. After sifting through the budgetary trajectories sent to Brussels by the governments of the eight main European countries, the financial magistrates drew up this implacable observation: in 2026, France might well be the last, the only one, not to have reduced its public deficit below the fateful mark of 3% of GDP. Even though certain countries like Italy and Spain are starting from higher levels (respectively 8 and 4.8 points of GDP in 2022 compared to 4.7 for France). Not very shiny.
“We are going to keep our forecasts, Bercy procrastinates. Outside of the Covid period, France has always respected its forecasts in recent years.” Paris even estimates that the upward revision this fall of growth prospects for France should modify the assessment of the evolution of its expenditure, an element not taken into account in the opinion published Tuesday and which, according to Bercy, would the country is in trouble. Optimistic !
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