Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Whereas:

The Stability and Growth Pact aims to secure budgetary discipline across the Union and sets out the framework for preventing and correcting excessive government deficits, whereas strengthened surveillance of budgetary policies applies to Member States whose currency is the euro.

The related competences conferred upon the Commission and the Council with regard to the multilateral surveillance framework are rooted in the Treaties and Union secondary legislation.

The Five Presidents' Report ‘Completing Europe's Economic and Monetary Union’ proposes to strengthen the current economic governance framework through the creation of an advisory European Fiscal Board. It should contribute in an advisory capacity to the exercise of the Commission's functions in the multilateral surveillance in the euro area. This is without prejudice to the Treaty-based competences of the Commission.

The Board should provide the Commission with an evaluation of the implementation of the Union fiscal framework, in particular regarding the horizontal consistency of the decisions and implementation of budgetary surveillance, cases of particularly serious non-compliance with the rules, and the appropriateness of the actual fiscal stance at euro area and national level.

As the Stability and Growth Pact centres on national budgets and does not specify the aggregate fiscal stance, the Board should also contribute to a more informed discussion within the Commission of the overall implications of budgetary policies at euro area and national level, with a view to achieving an appropriate fiscal stance for the euro area, within the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact.

The European Fiscal Board should perform its tasks independently and prepare its opinions autonomously from any national or European institution, body, office or agency. Its secretariat should be administratively attached to the Commission's Secretariat-General,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: