Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

RemovedArticle 33 – paragraph 2: 2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 8 and 19a shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of 5 years from the date of entry into force of this Regulation. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the 5-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.

Added2. For Member States having a government deficit below the 3% of GDP reference value and public debt below the 60% of GDP reference value, the Commission shall provide technical information regarding the structural primary balance necessary to ensure that the headline deficit is maintained below the 3% of GDP reference value without any additional policy measures over a 10-year period after the end of the national medium-term fiscal-structural plan.

RemovedArticle 33 – paragraph 3: 3. The delegations of power referred to in Articles 8 and 19a may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect on the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

Added3. Each Member State having a public debt above the 60% of GDP reference value or a government deficit above the 3% of GDP reference value shall update its proposal for a reference trajectory at least two months before the submission of the next ▌medium-term fiscal-structural plans.

RemovedArticle 33 – paragraph 6: 6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 8 and 19a shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of three months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by three months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

AddedAssessment of plausibility and debt sustainability

RemovedArticle 35 – title: Monitoring missions

AddedTo assess plausibility that the projected public debt ratio of the Member State concerned is on a downward path which, with appropriate fiscal policies, leads to sustainable debt reduction or remains at a prudent level, the Commission shall use a replicable, predictable and transparent methodology based on the following conditions:

RemovedArticle 35 – paragraph 1: 1. The Commission shall undertake monitoring missions in Member States which are the subject of recommendations issued pursuant to Article 23 for the purposes of on-site monitoring.

Added(a) public debt ratio declines or stays at prudent levels, under the deterministic scenarios of the Commission’s medium-term public debt projection framework, based on debt sustainability analysis methodology;

RemovedArticle 35 – paragraph 2: 2. When the Member State concerned is a Member State whose currency is the euro or a Member State that is participating in ERM2, the Commission may invite representatives of the European Central Bank, if appropriate, to participate in monitoring missions.

Added(b) the risk of the public debt ratio not decreasing in the 5 years following the adjustment period of the national medium-term fiscal-structural plan is sufficiently low, that risk being assessed with the help of the Commission’s stochastic analysis.

RemovedArticle 36 – title: Review

AddedThe Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of its analysis of plausibility and the underlying data, subject to confidentiality arrangements where necessary.

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 1: 1. By [31 December 2028] and every 5 years thereafter, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council a report on the application of this Regulation accompanied, where appropriate, by a proposal to amend this Regulation. The Commission shall make that report public.

AddedBy … [12 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation], the Commission shall adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 33 to supplement this Regulation by defining the methodology for debt sustainability analysis and the methodology for the assessment of plausibility referred to in paragraph 1. Delegated acts shall be sufficiently detailed in the disclosure of models and ranges of variables and assumptions so as to enable replicability of the debt sustainability analysis.

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 2 – introductory part: 2. The report referred to in paragraph 1 shall assess and review:

AddedFor the purpose of the delegated act on debt sustainability analysis, the Commission shall identify the relevant factors to assess the sustainability of debt, taking into consideration, in particular the future evolution of sustainable growth; interest rates; the level of inflation; liquidity risks; the structure of the debt; contingent liabilities; the potential growth impact of the reforms and investments underpinning the implemented national medium-term fiscal-structural plans, as well as climate risks.

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new): (aa) the use of the delegated powers laid down in Article 33;

AddedFor the first year in which the Member States are to submit their medium-term fiscal-structural plans, and as long as the delegated act referred to in paragraph 3 is not adopted, the underlying medium-term public debt projection framework shall be based on the most recent update of the Debt Sustainability Monitor.

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new): (ba) the progress in the implementation of the country-specific recommendations, the common priorities of the Union as referred to in Article 12, first paragraph, point (ba); the reforms and overall level of investments in the Union;

AddedNATIONAL MEDIUM-TERM FISCAL-STRUCTURAL PLANS

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 2 – point b b (new): (bb) whether Communication COM(2015)361 is still fit for purpose.

AddedSubmission of the national medium-term fiscal-structural plans

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 3: 3. The Commission shall submit the report to the European Parliament and to the Council.

AddedEach Member State shall submit to the Council and to the Commission a national medium-term fiscal-structural plan before end-April following the entry into force of this Regulation. The Member State concerned and the Commission may agree to extend this deadline by a reasonable period if necessary. The European Parliament shall, without undue delay, be informed in writing about each extension and the reasons underlying it.

RemovedAnnex I: deleted / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted)

AddedEach Member State shall submit to the Council and to the Commission a new national medium-term fiscal-structural plan before the end of April of the final year covered by the ongoing medium-term fiscal-structural plan.

RemovedAnnex II – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) The national net expenditure path referred to in Article 11.

AddedThe national medium-term fiscal-structural plan shall be accompanied by an opinion of the independent fiscal institution of the Member State concerned, in particular regarding the fulfilment of the criteria in Article 15 and the assumptions used in the reference trajectory. However, failure by the independent fiscal institution to deliver such an opinion within a reasonable timeframe shall not prevent the submission of the plan by the Member State.

RemovedAnnex II – paragraph 1 – point d: (d) Information on implicit liabilities related to ageing, and contingent liabilities with a potentially large impact on government budgets, including government guarantees, non-performing loans, and liabilities stemming from the operation of public corporations, including the extent thereof, potential expenses and obligations arising from court cases and, to the extent possible, science-based information on disaster and climate contingent liabilities.

AddedPrior to the submission of its national medium-term fiscal-structural plan to the Council and Commission, each Member State shall establish a structured cooperation mechanism to receive contributions to that national medium-term fiscal-structural plan from civil society, social partners, regional authorities and other relevant stakeholders. The recommendations and suggestions submitted in the framework of the structured cooperation mechanism shall be included as an annex to the national medium-term fiscal-structural plans.

RemovedAnnex II – paragraph 1 – point f: (f) In case the Member State makes use of assumptions referred to under point (e) that differ from the Commission’s assumptions over the adjustment period of the national medium-term fiscal-structural plan, and, if applicable, the reference trajectory proposed by the Member State deviates from the reference trajectory put forward by the Commission in accordance with Article 5, due explanations and justifications based on sound economic arguments of these differences.

AddedPrior to the submission of its national medium-term fiscal-structural plan to the Council and Commission, each Member State shall debate the draft national medium-term fiscal-structural plan with its national parliament.

RemovedAnnex II – paragraph 1 – point h: deleted

AddedThe Member State shall make its national medium-term fiscal-structural plan public upon its submission to the Council and the Commission, along with the reference trajectory and all data, assumptions and documents related to the negotiations used for the reference trajectory.

RemovedAnnex II – paragraph 1 – point i: (i) Reform and investment priorities to respond to the main challenges as identified in the country-specific recommendations, taking into account the state of play of implementation of those country-specific recommendations and the progress on the reduction of the investment gaps.

AddedTechnical dialogue

RemovedAnnex II – paragraph 1 – point j: (j) Reforms and public investment expenditure, addressing each of the common priorities of the Union referred to Article 12, first paragraph, point (ba).

AddedPrior to the submission of its national medium-term fiscal-structural plan, the Member State concerned shall hold with the Commission a technical dialogue, with the objective of ensuring that the national medium-term fiscal-structural plan complies with Articles 11, 12, 14 and, where relevant, Article 13. The Commission shall ensure equal treatment of Member States. To ensure transparency and accountability, the Commission shall retain the minutes and all related documents prepared ahead, during and after each technical dialogue until at least the end of the second intended adjustment period. After the submission of the national medium-term fiscal structural plan to the Council and the Commission, the European Parliament shall have access to those documents upon request, subject to confidentiality arrangements, where necessary.

RemovedAnnex II – paragraph 1 – point m: (m) The medium-term budgetary and potential medium-term growth and resilience impact of those reform and investment commitments referred to under point (k) where possible.

AddedContent of the national medium-term fiscal-structural plan

RemovedAnnex II – paragraph 1 – point n: (n) If applicable, reforms and investment to correct the identified macroeconomic imbalances under the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure, the warnings by the Commission or the recommendations by the Council pursuant to Article 121(4) TFEU.

Added1. A national medium-term fiscal-structural plan shall provide the information listed in Annex II. In particular, it shall present a net expenditure path, set in the form of nominal targets, covering a period of at least 4 years, as well as the underlying macroeconomic assumptions and the planned fiscal-structural measures in order to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of Article 12.

RemovedAnnex II – paragraph 1 – point o: (o) The planned overall level of reforms and nationally financed public investment covering the period of the national medium-term fiscal-structural plan.

Added▌

RemovedAnnex II – paragraph 1 – point q: (q) Information on the public consultations of social partners, civil society organisations and other relevant stakeholders in view of the preparation of the plan and a summary of their contributions to the plan.

Added▌

RemovedAnnex II – paragraph 1 – point q a (new): (qa) Information, data and documents used during the technical dialogue as referred in Article 10 and assumptions used for the definition of reference trajectory as proposed by the Member States and as assessed by the Commission.

AddedRequirements for the national medium-term fiscal-structural plans

RemovedAnnex III – paragraph 1 – point f: (f) During the lifetime of the Recovery and Resilience Facility or any Union investment instrument that would serve a similar purpose, information on the progress of implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, to comply with the bi-annual reporting requirements in the context of the European Semester set out in Article 27 of Regulation (EU) 2021/241.

AddedThe national medium-term fiscal-structural plan shall:

RemovedAnnex IV: deleted / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted)

Added(a) ensure the primary structural fiscal adjustment necessary to put or keep public debt on a plausibly downward path leading to sustainable debt reduction, by the end of the adjustment period at the latest, or remain at prudent levels, and to bring and maintain the government deficit below the 3% of GDP reference value over the medium term;

RemovedAnnex V: deleted / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted)

Added(b) explain how it will ensure the delivery of investment and reforms responding to the main challenges identified within the European Semester, in the country-specific recommendations and, correct, if applicable, the identified macroeconomic imbalances under the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure, the warnings by the Commission or the recommendations by the Council made pursuant to Article 121(4) TFEU;

RemovedAnnex VI: deleted / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted)

AddedIn addition, the national medium-term fiscal-structural plan shall explain how it will ensure consistency with the broad guidelines for the economic policies of the Member States and with the employment guidelines in accordance with Article 121(2) and Article 148(2) TFEU and, if applicable, prevent social convergence risks identified within the European Semester in accordance with Article 3, second paragraph, point (b);

Added(ba) explain how it will address the following common priorities of the Union:

Added(i) the European Green Deal , including the transition to climate neutrality by 2050 and the translation at national level through the National Energy and Climate Plans;