EU agrees on looser fiscal rules to cut debt, boost investments

EU member states and MEPs struck a preliminary deal on Saturday to ease the bloc's stringent fiscal rules, giving governments more time to reduce debt as well as incentives to boost public investments in climate, industrial policy and security. The latest revamp of two-decades-old rules known as the Stability and Growth Pact came after some EU countries racked up record high debt as they increased spending to help their economies recover from the pandemic, and as the bloc announced ambitious green, industrial and defence goals. The new rules set minimum deficit and debt reduction targets but these are less ambitious than previous figures.