From rules to resilience: the relevance of EU fiscal governance

The EU’s fiscal governance framework was overhauled in 2024 to restore credibility, simplify rules, and give countries greater ownership while safeguarding debt sustainability. Past crises had revealed rigidity, complexity, and pro-cyclicality that weakened trust and effectiveness. The revised framework aims to correct these flaws while preparing for green and digital transitions, rising security needs, and global uncertainty. Yet many of the EU’s small, open economies face particular challenges: balancing short-term stabilisation with long-term sustainability, managing shocks without derailing debt paths, and navigating rules that risk constraining investment in cohesion and the green transition. At this event we assessed whether the new rules strike the right balance between stability and flexibility, and whether they remain fit for purpose in today’s volatile environment.