21.02.2017

"The European project has been undergoing both economic and political challenges that have been also marked by a degree of uncertainty over the future growth prospects. In the current macroeconomic situation with very low inflation and zero interest rates, public investments tend to be more efficient both for the surplus countries, which have fiscal space, and for the countries which examine the impact of these effects." Deputy Minister of Finance Marinela Petrova said the above during the macroeconomic dialogue with the social partners, held today in Brussels, Belgium.

"For the small open economies, however, fiscal stability has to be the main policy goal as far as the fiscal multipliers tend to be of a less significance there," Marinela Petrova pointed out. On the other hand, long-term economic growth and sound fiscal policy go hand in hand and, hence, the approach of solving the policy dilemma for expansionary or contractionary fiscal policy should consider primarily the need to ensure the long-term sustainability of public finance, she added.

Prof. Edward Scicluna, Minister for Finance of Malta and rotating President of ECOFIN, Valdis Dombrovskis, Commission Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, and representatives of ECOFIN and the European Central Bank took part in the traditional meeting to discuss current economic conditions and the economic outlook, and the role of the fiscal stance in supporting growth. In addition to the current Presidency, the Council was also represented by the two future Presidencies - the Estonian and the Bulgarian ones. The dialogue is a permanent institutionalised form of cooperation for joint policies and decisions, held twice a year. Representatives of the European Trade Union Confederation, the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services and the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises took part in the discussion on behalf of the social partners.

After the macroeconomic dialogue Deputy Minister Petrova took part in the ECOFIN meeting where a follow-up to the Council conclusions of 8 November 2016 on "Criteria and process leading to the establishment of the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes" was presented. The agenda also included discussion of the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive. The participants approved the draft Council recommendations on the discharge to be given to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the budget for 2015 and the budget guidelines for 2018.