European Commission proposes 'peer review' for national budgets

A proposal published by the European Commission today could see Ireland and other eurozone countries required to submit their budgets in advance for 'peer review' by other Member States before they could be adopted by the national parliament.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen has insisted the move is merely a proposal up for discussion in the wake of the economic crisis, to avoid a repeat of the financial meltdown that has affected Greece.