| Author (Person) | King, Tim |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.10, No.26, 15.7.04 |
| Publication Date | 15/07/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Tim King Date: 15/07/04 THE European Commission will not be making any recommendations on action against the budget deficits of France and Germany until the Autumn, the College of commissioners agreed on Wednesday (14 July). Their discussion followed a ruling from the European Court of Justice on Tuesday that the Council of Ministers had departed from EU law when it decided last November to hold in abeyance the excessive deficit procedures against France and Germany. The court annulled the Council's conclusions. The ruling opens the way for the Commission to make further recommendations on France and Germany under the excessive deficit procedure. But it also appears to leave the Council free to ignore those recommendations. The judges concluded that the Council's failure to adopt the Commission's recommendations was not something that they either could or should annul. A Commission spokesman said: "We will not take any decision on how to proceed with France and Germany before the Autumn." The likelihood is that the Commission will take into account further data for the current financial year in drafting new recommendations, so as to update its view of the public finances of the two countries. The Commission's Autumn economic forecasts will be published on 26 October but a recommendation might still be made ahead of the October meeting of EU finance ministers, Ecofin. A spokesman for the Dutch presidency said that members of Ecofin's economic and finance committee discussed the court judgement in a conference call on Tuesday (13 July) but the presidency was still considering the consequences of the ruling. The Dutch presidency is planning a discussion of possible reform of the Stability and Growth Pact during the finance ministers' informal meeting on 11 September. The European Commission decided on 14 July 2004 that it will not make any recommendations on action against the budget deficits of France and Germany until Autumn 2004. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Economic and Financial Affairs, Law, Politics and International Relations |
