Frayne, Christine, Jaffee, Elizabeth, Riso, Stéphanie, (2013), “Building a Strengthened Fiscal Framework in the European Union: A Guide to the Stability and Growth Pact”, European Economy, Occasional Papers, N.150.
This publication provides a non-technical overview of the Stability and Growth Pact, the rule-based framework for fiscal policy in the European Union. It is divided into two sections. The first section provides a historical look at the evolution of the SGP’s framework, from the Pact’s origins in the Maastricht Treaty to the most recent Two Pack reforms. It presents the changes that were made to the framework over the years and discusses the reasons for the reforms. The second section provides a description of the application of the SGP today, structured around the SGP’s two arms, the preventive arm and the corrective arm.