An overview of the 2020 Stability and Convergence Programmes of EU Member States and an assessment of their implications for the euro area’s fiscal stance. The European Union is experiencing the deepest economic recession in its history. The ongoing crisis is set to have a large, and to this day still uncertain, impact on public finances. Following the activation of the general escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), Member States can temporarily depart from their adjustment path or their medium-term budgetary objective (MTO), provided that this does not endanger fiscal sustainability in the medium term.[…]