Growth
EU's Almunia confident on stability pact deal soon
The European Union commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, Joaquin Almunia, said on Wednesday 2 March that he was confident agreement would be reached "soon" on the Stability and Growth Pact.
IMF's Rajan says Europe needs 'balanced' Pact
Europe needs balanced budget rules to boost economic growth, the IMF's Chief Economist Raghuram Rajan said in an interview published on Wednesday 23 February, referring to recent plans to revamp the European Union's Stability and Growth Pact.
News Analysis : The rise of reserve management
Nick Carver looks back on two surveys1 of central bank reserve managers.
Reforming the Stability and Growth Pact
The IMF published a Discussion Paper "Reforming the Stability and Growth Pact" on Tuesday 15 February. The paper says that few changes to the rules seem necessary, but the Excessive Deficit Procedure needs a stronger focus on policies rather than…
Juncker says stability pact changes to be limited
Euro group president Jean-Claude Juncker said at the weekend that reform of the EU stability pact will be limited and will not harm economic stability.
Does Europe need stability or flexibility?
After long fighting a weakening of the stability and growth pact, it now appears as if Brussels is willing to play along. This article looks at the expected revamp of the pact and asks whether it will hurt or help Europe's economy.
Trichet: Stability and growth pact needs improving
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said that some aspects of the European Union's Stability and Growth Pact need to be improved.
Interview with Bank of Finland's Liikanen
In an interview published on Thursday 20 January, the Governor of the Bank of Finland, Erkki Liikanen, strongly defended the Stability and Growth Pact of the European Union. He expressed concern that financial discipline and budgetary restraint in the…
Interview with ECB's Gonzalez-Paramo
In an interview published on Friday 21 January, ECB Executive Board member Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo said the underlying Regulations of the Stability and Growth Pact should not be changed, but its implementation could be improved. Asked about the ECB's…
IMF's Rajan: World economy to slow down this year
Raghuram Rajan, chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, said that 2004 was an excellent year for world growth in the last two-three decades but don't expect 2004 to be repeated in 2005.
EC's Barroso says stability pact deal possible
In an interview with Italian daily La Stampa, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said he believes it will be easier for EU states to reach a compromise over reforms to the stability and growth pact than on future contributions to the EU…
Dutch central bank raises 2004 growth outlook
The Dutch central bank has raised its forecast for economic growth this year to 1.2 pct, while cutting the forecast for 2005 to 1.7 pct, the bank said in its latest quarterly report.
Austria's Liebscher defends stability pact
Austrian central bank governor Klaus Liebscher told a conference on Monday November 29 that the European Union's Stability and Growth Pact should be protected from broad-based reforms that would finish up weakening it.
Buba warns 'substantial risk' of deficit breach
The Bundesbank warned on Monday 22 November that Germany risks breaking the EU's tight budget rules again next year, even if it insists it will be able to meet its deficit commitments in 2005. In its November monthly report the German central bank said…
Interview with ECB's Gonzalez-Paramo
In an interview published this week, ECB Executive Board member Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo speaks out firmly against changing the wording of the Stability and Growth Pact, saying: "The Pact is a cornerstone of the currency union. Nobody had questioned…
Trichet rules out 'corrective arm' on pact
In a speech on Tuesday 12 october, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet, addressing a conference on the euro, voiced renewed opposition to any moves that might make it easier for eurozone members to breach their 1997 Stability and Growth Pact.
Buba's Weber on the stability and growth pact
In a speech given on 27 September, Bundesbank president Axel Weber said that in his opinion the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact are fundamentally appropriate. However, they have not always been enforced rigorously enough in the past.
ECB's Issing on strengthening economic governance
In a speech given on 28 September, Otmar Issing of the ECB defended the Eurozone's Stability and Growth Pact, saying it was "appropriate in its present form".
Greek deficit breach likely to avoid sanctions
Greece announced on Saturday 11 September that its 2004 budget deficit would be 5.3% of gross domestic product. With national debt standing at 184 billion euros, 112% of GDP, or 50,000 euros for every citizen. However the collapse of the stability and…
ECB chief economist says Pact losing its bite
The European Central Bank's chief economist has described the current status of the eurozone's Stability and Growth Pact as 'intolerable'. Otmar Issing told the German newspaper Die Welt that without a credible threat of sanctions, the pact was 'losing…
Eichel raps Bundesbank over stability pact
German Finance Minister Hans Eichel rapped the Bundesbank on Friday 10 September for its recent criticism of the EU's proposed changes to the stability and growth pact in a press release titled "Do not weaken the Stability and Growth Pact".
Bundesbank statement on EC proposals
Responding on Tuesday 7 September to the European Commission's proposals for reform of the Stability and Growth Pact, the Bundesbank said it believed that instead of strengthening the Pact, the proposed changes would have a "generally detrimental" effect…
Almunia not expecting ECB objection to Pact change
EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joaquin Almunia has said the European Central Bank is not expected to oppose possible changes to the stability and growth pact.
Buba's Stark sceptical on budget pledge
The Bundesbank believes the German public deficit, set to exceed EU limits for the third year in a row this year, will again be higher than the European Stability and Growth Pact allows next year, the financial daily Boersen-Zeitung reported.