Activites

• 1997/08/02 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Regulation 1997/1467
  • OJ L 209 02.08.1997, p. 0006
• #2023
• 1997/07/07 Council Meeting
• 1997/07/07 End of procedure in Parliament
• 1997/07/07 Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
• 1997/06/24 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(1997)0306
• #2014
• 1997/06/09 Council Meeting
  • 2014
• 1997/05/29 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T4-0268/1997 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a report and recommendation by Mr Efthymios CHRISTODOULOU (PPE, GR) approving, subject to several amendments, the two proposals that constitute the Stability and Growth Pact, a key element in ensuring budgetary stability during the third phase of EMU. Parliament, consulted again on the proposal for a regulation defining the procedure applicable to Member States with an excessive budget deficit, calls for the interest on deposits and the fines imposed on Member States with an excessive budget deficit to be entered in the Union's general budget and not distributed among participating Member States without an excessive deficit, as the Council has proposed. Parliament also calls for the Council periodically to examine (on the basis of a report from the Commission and opinions delivered by the European Central Bank and after Parliament has been consulted) and revise the regulation in the light of experience gained. It hopes further that an additional regulation on the methodology and notification of data concerning real changes in GDP will be drawn up for 1 January 1999. �

• 1997/05/21 Committee report tabled for plenary, reconsultation
  • A4-0181/1997
• 1997/05/21 Vote in committee, 2nd reading
• 1997/04/23 Formal reconsultation of Parliament
• 1997/04/07 Amended legislative proposal for reconsultation published
  • 06931/2/1997
• 1997/03/19 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(1997)0117 summary

    The Commission's amended proposal includes the amendments proposed by the European Parliament which were accepted by the Commission and the decisions taken at the European Council in Dublin in December 1996. The wording has also been amended in the light of the discussions of the Council Working Group on EMU. �

• 1996/11/28 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T4-0641/1996 summary

    In adopting the report by Mr Efthymios CHRISTODOULOU (PPE, G), Parliament approved, with amendments, two draft Regulations: one concerning the introduction of an early-warning system to avoid excessive deficits, the other concerning time limits and sanctions. Regarding the early-warning system (cooperation procedure), Parliament insisted that national budgetary policies need to be set so as to allow adequate government investment to help sustain growth and employment. It considered that stability programmes should be incorporated in the national budgetary procedures and submitted to the national parliaments in accordance with an appropriate timetable, whilst emphasizing that Parliament be properly informed. Moreover, similar procedures should also exist for countries that are not members of EMU. Finally, Parliament called for the establishment of an Employment Committee analogous to the Monetary Committee and for the maintenance in operation of the Cohesion Fund during stage III, for as long as the parameters for development differentials which justified its creation (per capita GDP lower than 90% of the Community average) remain in force. With regard to time limits and sanctions (consultation procedure), Parliament reaffirmed the above principles. It proposed some changes to the time limits and adopted an amendment to authorize the breaching of the reference value fixed for the public deficit where unusual events induced the Member State concerned to engage in excessively high levels of expenditure in order to safeguard its territorial sovereignty. In addition, it underlined that in the event of an excessive deficit, the amount of the deposit prior to payment of any fine should not be considered as part of the government expenditure of the Member State concerned. �

• 1996/11/12 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A4-0371/1996
• 1996/11/11 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 1996/10/16 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(1996)0496 summary

    OBJECTIVE : the proposal for a Council Regulation forms part of the stability pact for ensuring budgetary discipline in stage III of EMU. Its aim is to speed up and clarify the implementation of the excessive deficit procedure, so that it acts as a genuine deterrent. SUBSTANCE : the main principles proposed are as follows: - setting time limits for the key steps of the procedure so that sanctions would be imposed, where appropriate, within the calendar year following the year in which the excessive deficit occurs; - defining the 'exceptional and temporary' circumstances when the reference value can be breached; - pre-determining the scale of the pecuniary sanctions. With regard to the implementation of sanctions, it is proposed that a non-interest bearing deposit should be required whenever sanctions are triggered. The Commission proposes that annual deposits would include a fixed component, equal to 0.2% of GDP, and a variable component equal to one-tenth of the excess of the deficit over the 3% reference value, and would be subject to a ceiling of 0.5% of GDP. �

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(1996)0496
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A4-0371/1996
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T4-0641/1996
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(1997)0117
• Amended legislative proposal for reconsultation published: 06931/2/1997
• Committee report tabled for plenary, reconsultation: A4-0181/1997
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T4-0268/1997
• Debate in Council: 2014
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(1997)0306
• : Regulation 1997/1467
• : OJ L 209 02.08.1997, p. 0006

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)