RESEARCH PAPER
The Future of the Stability and Growth Pact
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Publication date: 2011-02-28
GNPJE 2011;245(1-2):19-42
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ABSTRACT
The article focuses on the European Union’s Stability and Growth Pact in the context of the experience of the latest financial crisis. The starting point for the discussion is a look at the basic assumptions of the Stability and Growth Pact. Subsequently the author evaluates the agreement in the form in which it was adopted before the latest crisis. The article closes with conclusions resulting from the financial crisis for the future of the Stability and Growth Pact.
The latest crisis has upset the balance in the public finance sector and renewed debate about the Stability and Growth Pact, Lubiński says. According to critics, the Stability and Growth Pact, which was expected to guarantee stability in the eurozone, has largely failed to live up to expectations. The international debate has featured many arguments for and against the Stability and Growth Pact. At the same time, some earlier proposals for changes have been revived and new proposals have been made. The latter are not always realistic for political reasons, according to Lubiński.
The global financial crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the existing system and highlighted the need to strengthen implementation and coordination efforts and take additional preventive and remedial measures, the author says. The crisis has shown that a comprehensive system for resolving crises needs to be developed, according to Lubiński.The proposed measures call for far-reaching modifications that would in practice mean a departure from the Stability and Growth Pact. Some argue that the Stability and Growth Pact is only a slogan and an unrealistic scenario for the European Union—one that could lead to completely different results than those originally assumed.