![EU states make last-ditch effort to back spending rules reform](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/6a/89/ee/EU-states-make-last-ditch-effort-to-019889.jpg)
-
US defends law forcing sale of TikTok app
-
Messi out for defending champ Miami as Leagues Cup begins
-
Australia bans uranium mining at Indigenous site
-
Divers attempt to reach sunken Philippine oil tanker
-
Trump accuses Harris of anti-Semitism in overblown speech
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese foreign minister in Laos
-
Coughlin clings to lead at LPGA Canadian Women's Open
-
Trump offers tech sector policy flips ahead of election
-
Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter
-
What's the fallout of Mexican drug lords' capture?
-
Video game makers see actors as AI 'data,' says union on strike
-
Chinese qualifier Shang to face Thompson in ATP Atlanta semis
-
Concern grows as Venezuela blocks election observers
-
'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
-
'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
-
Blinken, in Laos, set for talks with Chinese foreign minister
-
Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
-
Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
-
Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
-
G20 pledges to work together to tax ultra-rich
-
The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
-
Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
-
Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
-
Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
-
Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
-
Stocks rise as US inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
-
NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
-
Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
-
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
-
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
-
Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
-
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
-
Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
-
Norris hoping for more after topping Belgian practice times
-
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
-
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
-
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
-
Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
-
Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
-
S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
-
Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
-
G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
-
European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
-
Harris gets vital Obama backing in battle against Trump
-
Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
-
Stocks rise as inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
-
Two Sinaloa Cartel leaders face US charges after stunning capture
![EU states make last-ditch effort to back spending rules reform](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/6a/89/ee/EU-states-make-last-ditch-effort-to-019889.jpg)
EU states make last-ditch effort to back spending rules reform
EU finance ministers will try to hammer out an agreement over dinner on Thursday to reform bloc-wide spending rules after months of bitter divisions, especially between France and Germany.
Time is running out for the European Union to approve the reform within its self-imposed deadline of the end of the year.
Markets are watching closely and the old rules will kick in again on January 1, 2024, if there is no agreement.
The ministers will meet at 1800 GMT and Spanish finance minister Nadia Calvino has already warned the "open-ended dinner" will mean a "long night".
The European Union wants to make its budget rules more flexible and better enforced, hoping that these changes will make it easier for member states to adhere to.
Known as the Stability and Growth Pact, the rules have been suspended since 2020 to help member states weather two major economic shocks: the coronavirus pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Many countries viewed the rules as too strict, preventing countries from responding to changing circumstances, and this led to calls for reform.
France and Germany, the EU's two economic powerhouses have been at loggerheads over the reform in the past few months.
The main bone of contention between the two is deficit reduction and how much the EU should restrict the investment capabilities of member states with high deficit to GDP ratios.
Under the old rules, member states had to keep debt below 60 percent of gross domestic product and deficit below three percent of GDP.
The European Commission's reform says member states with a deficit above three percent must reduce it by a minimum of 0.5 percent every year until they fall in line.
Paris argues the reform should give wiggle room for how much member states must reduce their deficit annually to take into account investments in key areas like climate and defence following the war in Ukraine.
- Flexibility vs rigidness -
French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said the 0.5 percent figure for annual deficit reduction was too strict and he would seek a margin of "flexibility" of 0.2 percentage points in the pace of deficit reduction to incentivise investment.
His German counterpart Christian Lindner said Europe needs "more ambition to fight against excessive deficits", although he was optimistic there could yet be a deal.
But Le Maire and Lindner said they agreed on "90 percent of the essential issues".
EU officials, however, warned about complicating the reform to such an extent that it made it harder for countries to follow the rules.
"We need... to respect the commitment to simplification that we took when we launched this process," the EU's economy commissioner, Paolo Gentiloni, told reporters.
Commission executive vice president Valdis Dombrovskis said there was still a chance of an agreement by Friday.
"If all countries approach this process constructively, I think those differences are bridgable. So, I think it's feasible actually to finalise those discussions today and tomorrow," he told reporters before the dinner.
His commission colleague, Gentiloni, put the chances of a deal at "51 percent".
burs-raz/dc/bc
R.Adler--BTB