Eurogroup: The Fight for Additional Support Measures

Ανακαλύψτε περισσότερα άρθρα στα αποτελέσματα αναζήτησης

Greece has secured a cautious opening from Brussels to consider a request to fund targeted energy support, though the European Commission made clear after Thursday’s Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg that it will not tolerate a broader loosening of fiscal discipline.

Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis announced that the Commission had positively assessed requests from Athens and Rome to use the expanded flexibility of the national escape clause, originally designed for defense spending, to finance energy security measures. The requests now await final approval from the Council, and the Commission will continue to scrutinize their terms closely.

The two countries are pursuing different routes. Athens wants temporary measures excluded from the net expenditure indicator, while Rome is seeking to have the effect of inflation factored into assessments of compliance with spending limits, allowing windfall tax revenue to be channeled into short-term energy relief. The logic is simple: when high prices swell state coffers, governments want to return part of that money to the economy.