FISCAL RULES

The finance ministers also discussed extensively the need to reform the fiscal rules of the European Union.

Dombrovskis said that "many colleagues said the current EU fiscal rules work reasonably well". He reminded that excessive budget deficits of EU countries have been brought down and the public debt level in the EU is decreasing.

"It is expected to be 80 percent of GDP, down from 88 percent in 2017." He added that "it is true that this has happened through economic growth, but it also indicates that EU fiscal governance works."

"Many members spoke in favor of more simplicity to increase transparency and predictability. We have to assess whether we can reach agreement on simpler rules without opening legislation," Dombrovskis said.

Dombrovskis told the press conference that the ministers largely accepted the ideas presented by the independent European Fiscal Board to focus the rules on debt and government spending. Analysts said such a focus would watch easily observable parameters.

Currently, the focus of the rules is on the "structural deficit" which is an artificially calculated parameter. The Fiscal Board noted, for example, the whole process of surveillance of adherence to the rules has led to bilateralization where the commission discusses with member states separately.

The EU rules are officially called the Stability and Growth Pact, dating back to 1997, but have been overhauled several times. The rules limit the nominal budget deficit to three percent of GDP and give a cap on public debt at 60 percent.

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