Countries push for more flexibility on EU spending rules

EU member states are in a race to finalise more flexible fiscal rules in the coming weeks, or face the return of pre-pandemic austerity rules.

The EU’s rules around national debt and public spending were suspended at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic, to allow member states to manage the health and economic crises.

Many countries’ debt levels increased substantially over this period in a manner that would not have been tolerated under the old ...