Brussel waarschuwt Frankrijk en Italië over bestedingsplannen (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has sent a warning to France, Italy, Romania and Slovakia over their spending plans for the coming years, with an extra heap of criticism for Paris and Rome for their reluctance to sign up to an EU-wide goal of fully slashing public deficit by 2010.
Presenting the regular reports on the four countries on Wednesday (30 January), EU economy commissioner Joaquin Almunia recommended cuts in budgetary expenditure and further structural reforms as key goals for all of them, suggesting they should be "more ambitious" in their planning.
He highlighted the need for stronger fiscal discipline particularly when evaluating France's performance, as one of the biggest European economies and currently with one of the highest rates of public expenditure in the EU.
Paris has committed itself to eliminate its budgetary deficit by 2012, with most other EU countries aspiring to achieve this goal two years earlier.
The commission expressed some doubts over France's ability to meet this target as plans for key cuts have been "back-loaded" for the later period.
Still, commissioner Almunia praised the centre-right government's promise to push for reforms. "In the past, a sufficient degree of flexibility did not exist. I also see that there is a lot of political will in place to continue the reform process. It is already something which has started and certain decisions have been taken," he commented.
Meanwhile, the current political crisis in Italy has sparked concern in Brussels over its future economic performance.
Although the country managed to cut its budget deficit "well bellow 3% in 2007" - which is the EU's allowed ceiling - Brussels doubts the likelihood of Rome eliminating its deficit by 2011. It also warned about its public debt, currently at 106.8 percent of GDP.
Romania and Slovakia received a similar message. The commission's evaluation was watched particularly carefully in Bratislava as the country plans to file a bid to join the eurozone in January 2009.
The EU executive highlighted some structural problems in the Slovak economy and fears about possible inflationary pressures if it switches to the euro.
But the Slovak authorities reacted by saying that they are ready to prove they are doing enough to meet the economic criteria to join the 15-member single currency area in a sustainable way.