The EU has opened proceedings against Belgium, France, Italy, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia for excessive new debt or breaches of deficit rules.
According to reports, the procedure already underway against Romania will continue. According to the Maastricht ceilings, member states may not exceed a budget deficit of three percent and a total debt of sixty percent. If this happens, deficit procedures will be initiated to correct the deficits.
As a next step, the Council of EU countries will adopt recommendations to the member states at the end of this year – on the recommendation of the Commission. They must then take effective measures to correct their deficits within a given period. The Commission had subjected twelve EU countries to a closer examination of their deficits. Austria was not one of them. According to the country report, this country is expected to have a budget deficit of 3.1 percent this year.
This is how it continues now
The affected Member States must now draw up medium-term structural budgetary plans by 20 September, setting out their spending paths and their reform and investment priorities for the next four to seven years.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
