The Commission’s “Saint Nicholas” EMU package –no real surprises
No real surprises hidden in the “Saint Nicholas” reform package from Brussels,
a detailed set of reform proposals and communications that the European
Commission published on Wednesday as a “roadmap” for deepening EMU.
The proposals build on Commission President Juncker’s September State of the
Union speech and, in essence, match closely with the French vision of more
stabilization and risk-sharing in the EU, while they also try to meet German
demands for better supervision of fiscal rules. The strong focus on anchoring
any further integration of the Monetary Union – such as the reform of the ESM
and the introduction of a Eurozone budget – in the institutional framework to a
certain extent also illustrates the wariness in Brussels of being sidelined in its
fiscal competencies and to allow the euro area to further develop on its own.
EU Forecast
euf:ba.18.j:129/nws-01