Achieving and safeguarding sound fiscal positions - Proceedings of the Workshop organised by the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs in Brussels on 17 January 2008 - Martin Larch

Proceedings of the Workshop organised by the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs in Brussels on 17 January 2008. The post-2007 global financial and economic crisis has generated considerable political pressure in the EU, and beyond, to loosen the reigns of fiscal policy. Stabilisation is given priority over adjustment. In the medium and long term, however, one of the main challenges of public finances remains to achieve and safeguard sound fiscal positions in the face of the impending budgetary impact of ageing population. EU Member States need to create the necessary room in their budgets so as to make sure that the increasing weight of age-related expenditure does not affect the sustainability of government finances. Against this backdrop, the papers collected in this volume take a closer look at the mechanics and dynamics of fiscal adjustment in a bid to better understand the factors that are conducive to the achievement and consolidation of sound fiscal positions.