NEWS

Schauble wants fiscal watchdog, German gov’t denies plan

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble has a new plan with regard to improving the monitoring and coordination of fiscal policy within the EU in view of promoting long-term budgetary discipline, Der Spiegel reported on Sunday.

According to an internal Finance Ministry document obtained by the German publication, the Finance Minister plans to suggest the development of independent panels of experts, at both national and EU level, to monitor fiscal policy within individual states, the eurozone as well as the EU in general.

The experts would come mainly from the academic world and would also be in charge of looking into the compatibility of the countries? fiscal policies with European and national requirements, along with the implementation of national and European regulations, including the EU stability pact adopted at a summit last year, as well as a new fiscal pact which 25 EU members have agreed to implement.

A German government spokesman on Sunday said that the internal paper did not reflect the government’s current political thinking, the Irish Times reported. The spokesman, said the newspaper, noted that no new proposals were being planned.

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