Jan
20
Why EU’s Budget Rules Invite Members to Test Limits
By
Facing EU budget scrutiny again. PHOTOGRAPHER: DOMINIKA ZARZYCKA/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
The European Union requires all 28 member nations to maintain sound public finances, no matter their size or national challenges. But infractions generally don’t result in real punishment, and smaller countries sometimes complain that the biggest economies have gotten the most leniency. That’s set up a perpetual push and pull between the EU and national governments who test the limits, the way Italy did last year. While Brussels dares do little to enforce the rules, the stigma of being a fiscal pariah is often enough to rattle financial markets and push reprobate countries into discipline…
Why EU’s Budget Rules Invite Members to Test Limits
