The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) approved the medium-term fiscal-structural plans of 21 member states, including Medium-Term Fiscal-Structural Plan of Greece (2025-2028) on Tuesday.
Ecofin adopted the recommendations for the first-ever plans and set out the net expenditure paths for 21 member states.
According to the trajectory approved as concerns Greece, the maximum net expenditure growth the country must follow annually for the coming years is as follows: 3% in 2025, 3.2% in 2026, 3.1% in 2027 and 3% in 2028. Greece’s public debt will drop from 153.7% of GDP in 2024 to 133.4% of GDP by 2028.
“The medium-term fiscal-structural plans are a cornerstone of the new economic governance framework,” the Council said. The plans contain member states’ fiscal trajectory, together with envisaged reforms and investments. They contribute to strengthening member states’ debt sustainability and promoting sustainable and inclusive growth.”
The Council greenlighted the net expenditure paths and medium-term fiscal-structural plans of Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
For the five member states that requested an extension of the fiscal adjustment period to seven years (Finland, France, Ireland, Italy and Romania), the Council also endorsed the set of reform and investment commitments underpinning this extension.
A key objective of all plans is to ensure that, by the end of the fiscal adjustment period, general government debt is on a plausibly downward trajectory, or stays at prudent levels, and that the government deficit is brought and maintained below the reference value of 3% of GDP over the medium term. The standard fiscal adjustment period is 4 years. An extended 7-year fiscal adjustment period can lead to a lower fiscal adjustment need per year.