Sixpack (EU)
Sixpack denotes a total of six European legislative measures that bring the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact and the new macroeconomic monitoring procedure in motion. They were bundled in the negotiations between the European Council and the European Parliament (“six pack”). The six-pack came into effect on December 13, 2011.
Four of the six legal acts are aimed at reforming the EU's Stability and Growth Pact . This set reference values for the annual government deficit (3% of gross domestic product) and for the gross debt ratio (60% of GDP). If these requirements are not met, the so-called "Excessive Deficit Procedure" (EDP) is initiated.
In the regulations reformed with the six-pack, more emphasis is placed on reducing the public deficit . Member States with a debt level of more than 60% of GDP will be obliged to reduce it, even if their annual government deficit is below the 3% of GDP reference value.
In order to enforce compliance with the deficit limit in the member states of the euro area, the sanctions will now take effect earlier and more directly than before. A country against which an excessive deficit procedure is in progress or which does not react to the recommendations in the course of an early warning by the ECOFIN Council can be obliged to make interest-bearing deposits of 0.2% of GDP. If this country continues to disregard the recommendations or if its economic policy efforts are insufficient, the deposit can be converted into a non-interest-bearing one. Continued non-compliance would result in the deposit being converted into a fine. In addition, the sanction would be triggered more automatically than before: a stricter procedure with a changed voting mode in the Council is planned for this.
At the same time, the national accounts, statistics and forecasting practices of the member states will be brought into line with the EU standard. An additional fine may be imposed if a country is found to have reported incorrect data.
The remaining two pieces of legislation concern an early warning system for excessive macroeconomic imbalances and the associated corrective mechanism. The procedure is based on a 'scoreboard' of indicators relating to foreign and private debt as well as competitiveness as well as in-depth analyzes and results in economic policy recommendations.
In detail, these are the following ordinances and guidelines:
Budgetary policy
1. Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No. 1466/97 on the development of budgetary
surveillance and the coordination of economic policies
2. Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No. 1467/97 on the Speeding up and clarifying the excessive deficit procedure (EDP)
3. Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the effective enforcement of budgetary surveillance in the euro area
4. Council Directive on requirements for the budgetary framework of the Member States
Macroeconomic Imbalances
→ Main article: Macroeconomic imbalance procedure
5. Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances.
6. Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on enforcement measures to correct excessive macroeconomic imbalances in the euro area
Individual evidence
- ^ Page of the Federal Ministry of Finance Germany
- ^ Page of the European Parliament (German), in the English text "sixpack" is called.
- ↑ tagesschau.de, Wolfgang Landmesser, December 13, 2011: "Tightened Stability Pact comes into force - With the six pack against lax budget policy"
- ↑ Memo of the European Commission, MEMO / 11/898
- ↑ Laws, explanations, reactions “Six-Pack: Reform of the Stability Pact confirmed” EurActiv.de October 6, 2011