Contrary to some recent proposals i, we shouldn’t, according to me, get rid of the numerical targets which are in the Treaty: they are useful anchors, including the 3% deficit which is – in the case of France – more or less the threshold that would stabilize the public debt ratio at its pre-covid level. But the revised rules, without changing the Treaty, should be based on a long-term debt trajectory and on a single operational target, namely a ceiling on the growth rate of public expenditure as proposed by the European Fiscal Board (EFB), chaired by the Danish economist Pr. Niels Thygesen. First, we can keep the 60% long-term debt anchor. But the 1/20 linear rule of yearly adjustment towards it is too demanding and should be made more country-specific. Second, for the operational target, relying only on the current interest burden, as suggested by some, would be at the same time short-termist and too partial: the levels of the total public deficit and of public debt remains key to assess the sustainability of public debt in the face of unexpected shocks. But interest payments could be included in a net expenditure rule, unlike the EFB proposal which excludes them. At constant taxation rate, a rule based on total government expenditure growth would make it possible to control both the public  deficit and the public debt, since, implicitly, it incorporates a fiscal response to changes in the interest burden.
As the Prime Minister rightly declared recently, "the time has come for proof on the ground, rather than legislative cathedral building". xii I am well aware of the risk of appearing to give easy or excessively theoretical lessons, but I speak here with the conviction of the practitioner and even - if you will allow me in this last part of my speech with the passion of the public servant. Public management is not necessarily an easy task, but it is possible. Calling for the transformation of public services today means refusing to become resigned to a public service that is seen as outdated and unable to cope. I believe in the public service as a national asset: throughout our long history, from Bonaparte to Charles de Gaulle, public services have frequently been a catalyst for unity, modernity and even productivity. Transforming public services can and must serve to boost France’s competitiveness. xiii Pious hopes? No! There are perfectly good examples of modernisation of public services here in France, even in the very recent past. We could talk about our army, but I'll start with the current Public Accounts Directorate (Direction Générale des Finances Publiques), formed from the merger of the National Tax Office and the National Public Accounts Office (Direction générale des impôts and Direction générale de la comptabilité publique).