Brussels, 12/01/2011
Yet, as the financial crisis has proved, it is unrealistic to expect countries to be able to keep to the strict rules in exceptional circumstances such as now. The bad debts of the banks and their transfer to the public balance sheet have made it impossible for countries to keep to the current rules, and unless there is an exceptional period of growth, some will still be in breach of the stronger rules by 2013. This is a recipe for a collision with democracy.