A fiscal capacity for the euro area? : options for reforms to counter asymmetric shocks : in-depth analysis

The idea to create a 'fiscal capacity' for the euro area was launched in the wake of the sovereign debt crisis, with the recognition that weaknesses in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) had worsened the crisis. Although the debate has lost some momentum as euro-area countries have stepped back from the acute phase of the crisis, the EU institutions continue to work on designing a framework to bolster EMU, looking in particular at automatic stabilisers. The European Parliament's Committees on Budgets and Economic and Monetary Affairs are currently preparing a report on a budgetary capacity for the euro area.