BUDGET · STRESS TEST · ACCOUNTABILITY
French fiscal rule and EU law: avoiding two incompatible systems
How a stricter French rule can coexist with Regulation 2024/1263, net-expenditure paths and EU escape clauses.
The French Constitution cannot ignore EU fiscal law
The reformed EU framework uses a multiannual net-expenditure path. Where debt exceeds 60% of GDP or the deficit exceeds 3%, the Commission provides a reference trajectory. For debt above 90%, the debt-sustainability safeguard requires an average annual decline of at least one percentage point under the Regulation's conditions.
doctrine: France may adopt a stricter national rule, but it should not build a parallel system unable to demonstrate compliance with EU obligations.