When the EU Commission presents its economic autumn package on Tuesday, it is primarily the Netherlands that is put in the shame corner.
The country is the only one of the 21 examined whose new medium-term financial and structural plan (MTP) is not considered to meet the EU's requirements. The Netherlands' budget for 2025 is also the only one of 17 examined in the eurozone that is not considered to be in line with the rules.
The EU Commission is toning down the problems at the same time and instead points primarily to technical causes.
Among the budgets approved in the autumn package is France's. It does not prevent it from being a major worry for the economy. The far-right in the National Rally (RN) dislikes the austerity measures that Prime Minister Michel Barnier wants to implement and threatens to bring down the entire government just in time for Christmas.
Finance Minister Bruno Retailleau warns of an acute financial crisis in such a case. Barnier himself is even more drastic.
We must respect the eurozone's rules, otherwise, when a country does not do so, everything can explode, said the Prime Minister at an event in Paris on Friday, according to the news site Politico Europe.
The EU countries have strict rules to keep budget deficits below three percent of GDP and government debt below 60 percent. Temporary exceptions have, however, applied until this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine.
The rules can lead to fines or other measures in serious cases. An update has simultaneously been made to make the rules more flexible and give countries more time.
