Fiscal compact undermines good solutions to the crisis

The Luxembourg Greens oppose the Fiscal Treaty, asserting that its debt brake mandates austerity and deepens social inequalities by ignoring the revenue side of public budgets. The document argues that austerity has failed to trigger economic recovery and instead proposes a Green New Deal focused on green infrastructure and environmental industrial transition. It suggests that a genuine European solution requires a minimum tax base to stop tax competition and the use of Eurobonds or a common sinking fund to manage national debt burdens.

• The Fiscal Treaty's debt brake is viewed as socially irresponsible because it focuses exclusively on reducing public spending while failing to address tax harmonisation or corporate tax policies, which may force governments to cut essential social welfare programs.
• Fiscal austerity over four years in crisis countries has not resulted in significant economic recovery or debt reduction; rather, it has caused economies to shrink and reduced the capacity to repay public debt.
• The document proposes replacing austerity with a Green New Deal that invests in green infrastructure and an environmental industrial transition based on renewable resources, efficiency, and social inclusion.
• A sustainable European fiscal approach should include a minimum tax base to prevent tax competition among Member States and the implementation of Eurobonds or a common European sinking fund to mitigate private speculation on public debts.

APA

Mathias, F. B. M. (2013). Fiscal compact undermines good solutions to the crisis. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/fiscal-compact-undermines-good-solutions-to-the-crisis/

Chicago

Mathias, François Bausch, Mike. Fiscal compact undermines good solutions to the crisis. Green European Journal, 2013. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/fiscal-compact-undermines-good-solutions-to-the-crisis/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Mathias |first1=François Bausch, Mike |title=Fiscal compact undermines good solutions to the crisis |publisher=Green European Journal |date=27 February 2013 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/fiscal-compact-undermines-good-solutions-to-the-crisis/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{mathias2013fiscal, author = {Mathias, François Bausch, Mike}, title = {{Fiscal compact undermines good solutions to the crisis}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2013}, month = feb, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/fiscal-compact-undermines-good-solutions-to-the-crisis/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }