Pedro Sánchez will have his investiture, so his wait, long and tedious due to the demands of Junts and Puigdemont, is over. But Nadia Calviño remains immersed in hers, and it seems that the two major objectives she had set are not yet going to be closed: for now neither reform of the fiscal rules nor approval for her position as president of the European Investment Bank. Because? Because the 27 are still in talks and for now have decided to postpone any type of decision until December.. Spain has a lot at stake in both matters.

“These are issues that cannot be closed in a hurry and the debates are complicated, they are important decisions for the EU,” summarize the community sources consulted by 20minutes on a day in which the economy ministers of the 27 have met in Brussels to keep trying these lines. At a global level, in fact, a reform of fiscal rules that for some Member States has already been “urgent for some time” becomes more important, especially in the wake of the Covid pandemic, precisely the point from which debt limits and deficit are on hold.

However, it was in November 2022 when the European Commission presented its proposal for the reform of fiscal rules, almost as a starting signal for the debate.. In this plan, the Community Executive included greater flexibility and rules adapted to the particularities of each Member State, but in exchange it suggests sanctions in case of non-compliance.. These fines, which already exist but are not applied, would be minor but would be applied automatically.

The goal is for each of the 27 to manage the issue based on their particular tax situation.. The Commission would present a reference fiscal adjustment path, covering a period of four years, based on its debt sustainability analysis methodology. “This reference adjustment path should ensure that the debt of Member States with major or medium debt problems is placed on a plausible downward path, and that the deficit is credibly maintained below the 3% reference value of the GDP established in the Treaty,” Brussels explained in its statement.

However, this four-year period can be reduced to three in the case of economies with “moderate” debt, while those countries with a “low” level will not have to make any adjustments.. On the other hand, the Commission makes it clear that contact about the plans is not only between each partner and the Community Executive itself, but they will also have to have the approval of the Council.

“Member States would present plans setting out their medium-term fiscal trajectory, as well as their priority commitments to reform and public investment,” adds the Commission.. Member States could propose a longer adjustment period, extending the fiscal adjustment path up to three years “when the path is supported by a set of reform and investment commitments that support debt sustainability and respond to national priorities and objectives.” of the EU”.

Any idea has to be qualified or altered by the 27, and there are still different positions among them. Germany opts for orthodoxy and assures that the rules cannot be changed or relaxed because that would cause “instability”. France, on the other hand, understands that the rules have to be adapted “to the economic reality” of each community partner. Meanwhile, Spain, which still holds the rotating presidency of the Council, is the most insistent voice that the reform has to be profound because the current rules “are out of date.”. This Ecofín meeting seemed to be the final one, but any decision is postponed at least until next month.

At the moment in this Thursday's meeting, important progress was made thanks to some concessions made precisely by Berlin. “It is progress that the idea of safeguards and benchmarks in relation to the debt-to-GDP ratio and annual deficits is recognized, but now what must be considered is the level of ambition, now it is about talking about numbers not only of instruments,” said German Finance Minister Christian Lindner. Given this, Calviño was optimistic about paving the way for a “comprehensive agreement” at the end of this month.

The same thing happens with the presidency of the EIB.. Calviño remains a favorite along with the current European Competition Commissioner, the Danish Margrethe Vestager.. It is precisely Germany and France who have to reveal their positions, and only then will it be known if the position goes to the Spanish, who according to the sources consulted in recent weeks is the favorite.. At this point, the option of Madrid as the headquarters of the new European agency against money laundering also comes into play.. If the EIB has a Spanish signature, the agency will not do it, the bets say. For now, November will not be the month for these white smokes.