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1.PREMISESFORDISCIPLININGPUBLICFINANCESINTHEEUROPEANUNION
policies02AnothergoalofthereformwastoaccelerateandclarifytheExcessivede-
ficitprocedure0
3
Thesechangesweresupposedtoincreasetheeffectivenessofthe
StabilityandGrowthPact0
ThefinancialcrisiswhichhittheEuropeanUnioncountrieswithgreatforcein
2008–2009madeitimpossibletoverifytheeffectivenessofthechangesintroduced
totheStabilityandGrowthPact0Thesituationinpublicfinancesdeteriorateddra-
matically,andinsomememberstatestherewasalmostacrashinpublicfinances0
Itcreatedacompletelynewsituation0Theeffectsofthecrisisonpublicfinanceshave
beensoseverethattheExcessivedeficitprocedure(EDP)
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wasimposedonmostEU
countries,i0e0on24countriesfrom27memberstatesin2009–20110Eventhoughthe
seedsandcausesofthecrisiswereinthefinancial(private)sector,itseffectswere
revealedwithgreatstrengthinpublicfinancesand,mostimportantly,inthesphereof
realeconomyinmanycountries0Itexpresseditselfinthenegativeeconomicgrowth
rate(GDP),risingunemployment,fallinginvestmentin2009inallEuropeanUnion
countries(withtheexceptionofPoland)0Thedeterioratingstateofpublicfinanceshas
forcedmanycountriestoextraordinarysavings(austeritypolicy),asawayofseeking
immediatesourcesoffinancingrigidexpenditure,includingpublicdebtservicing0
TheeconomicandfiscalsituationoftheEuropeanUnionduringthefinancial
crisiswasadditionallycomplicatedbythefactofitsradicalenlargement,sincein
2004,10newcountrieswereadmittedtothisgroup(includingPoland),followedby
BulgariaandRomaniain20070Duringthefinancialcrisisitturnedoutthatthese
newcountrieswereevenlessresistanttothecrisis,inparticularLatvia,Lithuania,
EstoniaandCyprus0Institutionalgapsthatexistedatthattimemadeitdifficultto
provideassistancenotonlytothecountriesoftheoldUnion,butalsotothosenewly
admitted0Greece,Ireland,Italy,Spain,Portugalposeanexampleontheonehand,
andLatvia,LithuaniaandCyprusontheother0
ThisleadstotheconclusionthatsuchasignificantenlargementoftheEuropean
Unionandthegoalofhurriedsocio-economicintegrationofCentralandEastern
EuropewithWesternEuropecouldhavebeenfartoooptimistic,andtheadopted
pacecouldhavebeentoostrenuous0TheradicalenlargementoftheEuropeanUnion
in2004andinthefollowingyears(Bulgaria,Romania,Croatia),couldhaveslowed
downthewholeprocess0Suchahypothesiscouldbebasedonthedifficultyinmain-
tainingthefiscaldisciplinesetoutbytheMaastrichtTreatynotonlyfortheoldEU
2CouncilRegulation(EC)No1055/2005of27June2005amendingRegulation(EC)No1466/97
onthestrengtheningofthesurveillanceofbudgetarypositionsandthesurveillanceandcoordinationof
economicpolicies,OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion,July7,2005,L174/10
3CouncilRegulation(EC)No1056/2005of27June2005amendingRegulation(EC)No1467/97on
speedingupandclarifyingtheimplementationoftheExcessivedeficitprocedure,OfficialJournalofthe
EuropeanUnion,July7,2005,L174/50
4ReportonPublicFinancesinEMU2015,EuropeanEconomy,InstitutionalPaper14,December
2015,pp029–300
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