Effective budgetary management requires medium-term planning, by which the horizon for fiscal policymaking is extended beyond the annual budget cycle. All EU Member States have some sort of a Medium-Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF) in place but these frameworks differ substantially across countries in terms of political commitment, planning horizon, coverage, level of detail, formulation of targets, exclusion of certain items, carryover arrangements and binding nature. The experience of the recent crisis shows that allowing for more flexibility in the design of the MTBFs might be warranted. This, however, should be accompanied by more transparency in adjusting of the budgetary targets and increased role for independent monitoring of government's fiscal policy and execution.