The European Union extended through 2023 its suspension of rules against overspending by the bloc’s governments, prolonging a pandemic-era reprieve because of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The EU’s executive, the European Commission, says heightened uncertainty and strong downside risks to the economic outlook in the context of war in Ukraine, unprecedented energy price hikes, and continued supply chain disturbances warrant the extension.
The EU suspended the public spending rules for national governments in March 2020 as the 27-nation bloc sank into its deepest recession since World War II because of Covid-19 restrictions.