Budget Deficit and Public Debt declining across Europe

[Tender Branson]

European Union governments are well-placed to weather the global economic slowdown storm after reducing their budget deficits to their lowest level ever, officials in Brussels said.

According to latest Eurostat figures, the government deficit of the EU's 27 member states, when taken as a whole, fell from 1.4 per cent in 2006 to 0.9 per cent of gross domestic product in 2007.

Similarly, the average deficit fell from 1.3 to 0.6 per cent of GDP in the 15 countries that share the common European currency, the euro.

"This is the best figure ever," said Amelia Torres, spokeswoman for EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joacquin Almunia.

Friday's Eurostat figures also confirmed that Slovakia is on course to joining the euro in 2009 after reducing its budget deficit to 2.2 per cent of GDP - well below the 3 per cent limit set for euro member states.

The EU's executive, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank are expected to rule on May 7 on Slovakia's application to become the eurozone's 16th nation.

Eurostat figures released showed that overall public debt also fell, from 61.2 to 58.7 per cent of GDP in the EU27 and from 68.4 to 66.3 per cent of GDP in the euro area.

The largest deficits, as a percentage of GDP, were recorded by Hungary (-5.5 per cent), Britain (-2.9 per cent), Greece (-2.8 per cent), France (-2.7 per cent) and Portugal (-2.6 per cent).

No eurozone country exceeded the 3 per cent limit in 2007, while a total of 11 EU countries registered a surplus. These are: Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Estonia, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Germany.

Noting that EU budget deficits used to average around 5 per cent in the 1990s, Torres said the 2007 figures showed that "the stability pact, as reviewed, is working".

The spokeswoman said the "remarkable improvement" in the state of Europe's public finances would ultimately allow governments to "release funds used for growth and jobs" and thus counter the effects of slower economic growth.

The European Commission is due to publish its latest economic forecasts for 2008 and 2009 on April 28.

On that occasion, Almunia is expected to formally close excessive deficit procedures previously brought against Italy and Portugal.

Map from the Austrian newspaper derStandard, showing the deficit/surplus in each country:



http://news.smh.com.au/eu-in-solid-position-to-weather-slowdown/20080419-277h.html

[The Man From G.O.P.]

Pretty easy to accomplish when you don't have any responsibilities anymore.

[Bono]

Hopefully this will help the Euro furthermore. I have to note, though, that people still buy into the old Keynesian nonsense of government spending being necessary to create growth in a recession. Now watch them squander all these hard won stability in pointless, drunken spending.

[opebo]

Pretty easy to accomplish when you don't have any responsibilities anymore.

You have no idea what you are talking about - do you think that the only thing which qualifies as a 'responsibility' is military agression?  Free health care, the dole, and caring for an aging population are also responsibilities of a responsible government.

In any case the point to be learned here is that the Europeans manage their economies enormously better than does the right-wing united states.

[Јas]

Pretty easy to accomplish when you don't have any responsibilities anymore.

What does that even mean?

[minionofmidas]

Hopefully this will help the Euro furthermore. I have to note, though, that people still buy into the old Keynesian nonsense of government spending being necessary to create growth in a recession. Now watch them squander all these hard won stability in pointless, drunken spending.

Thus
a) behaving like governments in the times when Keynesianism was the official religion
b) proving that they don't give a rat's ass about Keynesian theories
c) behaving like most governments at most times, actually.