New European-wide coalition to reshape our fiscal framework

In the middle of the greatest health, social, and economic shock of our lifetimes, there has never been a more urgent time to reshape our economies.

The European Youth Forum has joined the call of a new coalition of more than 100 high-level academics, civil society organisations and public figures to urge EU leaders to reform current fiscal frameworks and build back better.

A joint letter was sent on 15 February to presidents from the Eurogroup, European Commission and Council of the European Union, ahead of the Eurogroup meeting and the ECOFIN meeting.

The letter warns against the dire consequences of austerity measures after the Covid-19 crisis if fiscal frameworks are not reformed and makes three headline recommendations to do so.

Silja Markkula, President of the European Youth Forum and co-signatory of the letter said:

Massive and well-designed government spending over the long-run will be necessary to avoid a lockdown generation and tackle the climate crisis. Current fiscal rules do not allow for this and need to be reformed drastically to put the wellbeing and future of our generation ahead of debt reduction and balanced budget concerns.

The European Youth Forum is proud to stand with this new Europe-wide coalition to both challenge and support EU leaders in delivering a transformative agenda and a socially and environmentally responsible Economic Governance Review.

The letter is only the first step and we have high hopes that together, we can reshape the current fiscal framework to work for current and future generations of Europe.