The European Commission is considering granting EU member states flexibility in budget rules to help tackle the energy crisis caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
According to Report, this was reported by Bloomberg, citing sources.
According to their information, the European Commission may introduce a mechanism similar to the exemptions for military spending, which would allow member states to allocate around 0.3% of GDP to energy measures without breaching EU budgetary discipline rules.
It is noted that final decisions have not yet been taken, and the details of a possible mechanism are still under discussion.
The European Union has strict budgetary rules, under which the government budget deficit must not exceed 3% of GDP, otherwise countries face sanctions. The European Commission has previously authorised temporary exemptions to allow military spending to be increased to 1.5% of GDP.
However, according to Bloomberg, the European Commission continues to insist that EU countries stop purchasing Russian gas.
