Credibility of the revised fiscal rules will be crucial so that vulnerable countries can benefit from confidence effects. National ownership will be key in that respect and can be supported via a stronger role of independent national fiscal institutions.

Avoiding the mistakes of the past, when the good times were not used to build buffers, will be crucial to avoid countries again being forced to engage in a pro-cyclical fiscal tightening in the next downturn.

Beyond fleeting references, there is surprisingly little analysis about the interrelationship between fiscal policy and safe assets. This study analyses this interrelationship and argues that, at a certain point, more public debt will not 'buy' more safety: countries face a kind of 'safe assets...