The European Commission will soon respond to the request of 20 member states, including Portugal, to postpone the deadline for submitting the medium-term structural budget plan until October, a source close to the process told Lusa on Thursday.
“The Commission is currently evaluating the information received from all the member states that have requested a postponement and will confirm shortly whether it agrees with the extension,” according to the same source, adding that five other countries have requested an even longer postponement and only Malta and Sweden are due to submit the structural plan this Friday, in line with the timetable.
An EU government spokeswoman said Brussels was open to “discussing and agreeing with member states an extension for a reasonable period of time”, which would be done “on a case-by-case basis, analysing the factors justifying the request”.
Thursday’s edition of Portugal’s Público newspaper reported that the government, led by Luís Montenegro, would not present the medium-term budget plan to Brussels until 20 September after requesting a delay in its submission to the European Commission.
Lusa also asked the Finance Ministry on Thursday about the reason for the postponement and the new date for submitting the budget to Brussels but has not yet received a reply.
Under the new economic governance framework, which came into force on 30 April, each member state has until 20 September (this Friday) to present a medium-term structural budget plan covering four or five years.
This plan will include budgetary, reform and investment commitments that will help ensure a consistent and gradual reduction of debt and promote sustainable and inclusive growth.
Based on their baseline or technical information, member states should include their fiscal adjustment path, expressed as a net expenditure path, in their national medium-term structural budgetary plans.
These plans and net expenditure paths have to be approved by the EU Council after being assessed by the European Commission.
If a member state requests an extension of the adjustment period, the Council must also endorse the reform and investment commitments underlying the extension.
(Ivone Gravato – edited by Pedro Sousa Carvalho | Lusa.pt)
Source: euractiv.com
