The European Commission will make a final decision July 5 on whether to launch sanction procedures against Spain and Portugal for breaching EU fiscal rules, officials told EurActiv.com.
Britain’s shock decision to leave the EU in a referendum last week has not altered the Commission’s plans to sanction both countries, EU officials said.
The numbers simply don’t add up for Spain and Portugal, the officials commented.
The executive prepared a negative verdict on the Spanish and Portuguese budgets and was ready to recommend sanctions on 18 May, the sources added.
According to the Juncker Commission, Madrid and Lisbon did not take “effective action” to cut their deficit below 3% of GDP on time.
If the Council backed this assessment, both countries will be imposed fines of up to 0.2% of their GDP and see part of their EU funding blocked. The Council of the European Union is the institution representing the 28 EU member states.
Spain and Portugal narrowly avoided sanctions in May this year when the Commission decided at the last minute to postpone its decision. The executive did not want to trigger sanctions for the first time, only weeks before the Spanish general elections and the UK referendum on EU membership.
“We have concluded that this is not the right moment economically or politically to take this step,” European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told reporters at the time.
Moscovici insisted that the postponement did not imply that the Commission would neglect its obligations in regards to the Stability and Growth Pact, the EU’s fiscal rules.