Spain, France, Slovenia and Cyprus were each granted longer deadlines to make adjustments than were actually envisaged in the Stability and Growth Pact. Derogations of this kind should, however, be reserved for well-justified exceptional cases. For this ultimately results in a weakening of the structural consolidation requirements and corrective action being pushed into the future.
Granting exceptions to a number of countries simultaneously undermines the disciplinary effect of the fiscal rules. And the new Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure should likewise be applied as rigorously as possible. While the construction of the extended set of economic and fiscal rules is already at an advanced stage, work on Europe's largest building project is still in full swing.