EU states aim to complete debt reform this year

The EU member states are sticking to their schedule of completing the reform of European debt rules by the end of the current year. EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on the sidelines of the informal Ecofin in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, that all member states had signaled a willingness to compromise at the meeting to intensify work and reach an agreement by the deadline. An agreement on a new set of fiscal rules by the end of December is necessary, as the existing exemption rules of the Stability and Growth Pact expire at that time.