Reguły fiskalne rządów na poszczególnych poziomach władzy w państwach członkowskich Unii Europejskiej

This article reviews the different types of fiscal rules and their properties with respect to various objectives assigned to fiscal policy. Then, it provides a descriptive analysis of the fiscal rules in force in the EU Member States. The characteristics of fiscal rules vary depending on the sub-sector to which they apply. Fiscal rules applying to higher levels government are usually incorporated into multi-annual budgetary framework whereas most rules applied to regional and local governments rely preponderantly on annual schemes. Most of the fiscal rules applied to regional or local levels governments are enshrined in constitution or law, while rules applying to the whole of the general government sector are more frequently based on coalition agreements or political commitments. Similarly, while rules for regional and local governments seem to have relatively strong enforcement mechanisms, rules applying to general and central governments generally don’t envisage ex ante defined actions in case of non-compliance. The analysis also indicates that contract countries tend to have more fiscal rules applied to central government and social security sectors while delegation countries have a higher number of fiscal rules implemented at regional and local level.